


Summer Time!!!

by YuuAyA



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe, Family Fluff, How Do I Tag, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-08-07 11:27:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7713250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YuuAyA/pseuds/YuuAyA
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summer break is about to start, and he could not help but just be excited about all of those plans which he had made with the rest of his 'family members' and him; his most important person.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Out of School

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic is created with the list of summer prompts which I found online, I may not be using every single prompts from the list as I am going to link this multi-chapter all together. Please do pardon all of the mistakes which could be found; including the horrible grammar mistakes I know that there will tons of it inside here, thank you!

 Prompt 1: Out of School

 

Excitement bubbled under his skin, doubling up the excess energy which he was unable to get rid of during their lunch break. Even thoughts about the plans about how everyone are going to spend the summer break is more than enough to excite him. To make things worse this is the last lecture before everyone is dismissed for the day, he had already packed most of the stuffs a few days ago, all that is left is to pack up the assignments given today and he could finally make the trip back to the Main Mansion.

He isn't the only one in the whole class who is excited for the summer break, everyone are excited for the short period of freedom they would have however they managed to hide their emotions better than he does. He wouldn't lie that it's been months since everyone was able to gather together.

The last time was during the New Year celebration; no way in hell would anyone ever  _dare_ to miss it, everyone had enjoyed the party which, as expected had turned wilf half way through. Red Haired Shanks' 'magical' appearance; to join in with the celebration, only made things worse.

"Portgas. D. Ace" the stern tone that his lecturer uses had him straighten up in his seat, snapping his face to make eye contact with him, "If you mind, please do focus on what I am teaching instead of making plans on what you want to do during the summer break." the unimpressed look on his lecturer's face is more than enough to kick-start the blush to appear on his face.  
  
"Sorry sir." is all he could reply, making the rest of the class laugh at him.

  
  
________________________________________________________________________

  
  
The cheers started when the bell ring signaling the end of the lecture, dumping everything into his bag, Ace didn't even spare another look at his friends except a slight wave before he is out of the room.

His friend wouldn't mind his behavior, he had repeatedly updated them about the plans and they _know_ to just leave him alone. It only took him a few minutes to reach his dorm room, noticing the lack of human life, it seems like his roommate is still stuck in a lecture.  
  
It isn't surprising, his roommate's dream is to become a surgeon, the amount of lecture needed to achieve his dream are  _insane_. Doesn't help that his roommate; Trafalgar Law, had managed to skip two years due to his knowledge and experience.  
  
Shrugging at it, he shouldn't care about his roommate right now, not that he is heartless or cruel or anything like that. He just wanted to pack everything up and get back to the Main Mansion as soon as possible.

Leaving a note for his roommate, so that the surgeon-in-training wouldn't worry about him.

  
________________________________________________________________________

  
  
The train ride back to the Main Mansion will take at least three hours, but it didn't bothered Ace at all, he could at least start on some of the assignments. But that didn't mean that he isn't distracted every few minute due to his excitement.  
  
He could already hear everyone's unique laughter in his mind, there's no doubt that everyone is going to enjoy everything, including Oyaji.  
  
It's a pity that both Sabo and Luffy are unable to join them. One of the ex-change student in Luffy's class have sent an invitation for his friends and him over, and being the brat who loves adventures, Luffy accepted the invitation -annoying his other friends till they finally gave in to go with him- without realizing the dates would crash with one another.

As for Sabo, he didn't realise that there will be extra-class when he first signed up for his courses. That idiot only found out when the lecturer announced the dates for the classes, nearly having an heart-attack as Sabo demand for reason. Sabo had been crying as he made the call to update everyone.  
  
There's nothing which could be done about Sabo's situation, but the two of them did agree that they will be there to celebrate both Christmas and New Year with everyone else. No way in hell will the both of them miss the birthday celebration for Ace; he will kill the both of them if they did somehow managed to forget about it. 

  
______________________________________________________________________

  
  
When he finally reached the Main Mansion, the place still look the same; gigantic that it looks like an orphanage rather than a house, the plants and flowers which had been planted by Fossa more than a few years ago are beginning to bloom. Different species of roses all in different colors are already in full bloom. Ace couldn't remember the time when he ever seen any of the roses wilt, at all. And he couldn't help but just wonder what in the world did Fossa do to them that actually allow the flowers to bloom even in the harshest seasons. 

Suddenly remember about the alarm system; Rakuyo  _finally_ managed to convince Oyaji to install, on the main gates, Ace quickly rushed to the door, knowing full well that someone will be greeting him at the door.  

No one is stupid enough to actually attack anyone of them, but after Shanks seems to have popped up among them during one of their party Marco finally have enough and have helped Rakuyo to convince Oyaji to install those alarms. At least Marco have some warning to when Shanks will appear.  
  
Thatch is the one who greeted him at the door, pulling him into a bone crashing hug, it's only because of all of his muscles from all the intense training that managed to prevent his bones from breaking from the strength Thatch puts into his bear hug.  
  
"Ace, you're finally back! You're the last one back here!" Thatch announced cheerfully, shouting into his ear.  
  
Pouting at that news, "Does that mean that all of you have been enjoying while I am being tortured in school?" That got Thatch to release his deep laughter. However before Thatch could even speak, someone had interrupted him.  
  
"Ace, since you're back, we're going to start the party and Thatch the kitchen needs your help." Izou pointed out while the cross-dresser lead against the wall.  
  
Perking up at the word, "Party? We're going to have a party now?" Ace asked, his legs vibrating with his excitement.  
  
Izou couldn't help but allow the smile from appearing on his face at the childishness from his youngest brother, "Yes, we are going to have a party however we won'e be able to start until you're ready."  
  
"Yes sire!" Ace saluted, snatching up his bag which he had dropped when Thatch pulled him into the bear hug.  
  
But before Ace could take another step, "Oh, I forgot. Ace," Ace turned his head slightly to look at Izou to see what other instructions which he forgot to tell him, "Welcome back." was echoed by both Izou and Thatch.  
  
Warmth spread through-out his whole body from the bright grin on his two older brother's face, it's like soaking in warm water on a cold and rainy day. It's like drinking a cup of gooey hot chocolate with marshmallow on the cold winter night, releasing the tension still trapped within his muscles, chasing his exhaustion due to all the lessons and all the assignments away.  
  
Making him remember the warmth that he would always experience when his baby brother gave him those wide and bright grin when he somehow managed to get his hands on more than enough food for their huge appetite.  
  
"I'm back."


	2. Shopping for swim wear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Erm... So... I'm late? By a day? XD  
> Sorry guys! This chapter just took a life on it's own. Doesn't help that I wasn't satisfied with the opening of this chapter, I had spent HOURS on writing and deleting, repeating the same process again and again until I ended up with this.
> 
> Fair bit of warning, I didn't went through the whole chapter to edit any parts at all so there will be a lot more grammar mistakes and maybe even spelling mistakes or even parts where it's kind of just repeating itself. Sorry about this but I've just burnt through the whole night to finish this.

 

 

Once Edward Newgate announces the start of a party, nothing will be able to stop half way. Really, nothing will be able to stop it, not even when Superintendent Akainu appears at their door is able to stop anyone from partying, not when Akainu's superior Sengoku; the Commissioner of Police, and Garp; the Deputy Commissioner of Police, are one of the few guests.  
  
There isn't any worry about any complains made by their neighbors, not with the secluded area where the Main Mansion is being built on. The only way which might stop the party would be when natural disaster strike, but it's rare. Like really, really rare. Once everyone is drunk out of their mind from the never-ending flow of booze, would announce the end of the party.  
  
And that's what the others are doing right now, chucking down all the alcohol like it's been years since everyone seen or even tasted the bitter goodness. Those who are light-weight are already drunk, can't be help when there are people forcing them to drink more than they could handle. And having that much drunkard meant that idiotic ideas will flow, the alcohol convincing them that those stupid ideas are worth a try, forcing him to keep an eye out to prevent any deaths or serious injuries from happening.  
  
But those incidents do make excellent blackmail materials, especially those that he managed to catch Thatch doing.  
  
Whenever Thatch thought of a good prank, he is usually the main victim. To prevent the prank from happen and cause choas among the others; including the amount of beri needed to repair all of those damaged parts, blackmail materials including photos are the best way to go. While those photos might loses it's effect a few months later, but it do make good laughing material, he still have the photos and video of Thatch trying on Izou's geta.  
  
It's a good thing that he was near enough to hear what was the main cause of that 'accident', Thatch insisted that it shouldn't be hard to walk in high-heels and he will be able to walk perfectly in them. When Izou finally given up on that fight and hand over his precious geta, Thatch couldn't even take two steps before the chief fell; twisting his ankles so bloody bad that they had to send the chief to the hospital to get a cast on it. He had made sure no one will ever forget about that 'accident' by 'accidently' playing the video during one of the meeting, Thatch had been pissed at him for nearly a year for that.  
  
And it's due to those stupid incident that he is able to actually enjoy the party. Afraid of him having some blackmail worthy materials on them, the others have tried their best to not allow him to capture things like that.  
  
Try as they might, once the booze starts flowing, no one will actually give a damn about it at all. Plus, he is the First Division Commander, the first to be officially adopted by Oyaji, there's nothing which anyone could do to stop him from it at all.  
  
______________________________________________________________________________  
  
  
"What do you mean you have never own a single swim wear in your whole life?" the dramatic high pitched question cut through all existing conversation. There isn't any need to search through the crowd to look for the culprite, there is only one person who is always so dramatic.  
  
"What are the both of you talking about?" Izou asked as he glide across the room to where Thatch is standing beside Ace. Marco who have been talking to Izou have been forced to move along with the cross-dresser.  
  
Thatch is doing his best imitation of a fish out of water, seeing as Thatch isn't going to reply him anytime soon, Izou turned his attention to Ace. "Ace, what are the both of you talking about?"  
  
Shooting a frown at Izou, "Thatch was just asked me the pattern and color of my swim wear, but when I told him that I have never own one in my whole life, he went bat-shit insane about it."  
  
The expression on Ace's face told Izou that the younger raven really didn't have any idea what Thatch is going on about, but that didn't mean that he didn't see what the problem is.  
  
"Ace-dear, do you remember the time when you told us about the fun that Luffy and Sabo have during the trip to the beach?" At Ace's nod, Izou continued asking, "What did the three of you wear when none of you ever owned swim wear before?"  
  
The frown deepens on Ace's face, "If we couldn't find anyone at the beach, we would just head in naked other wise we will be wearing our pants down. But I do know that it's impossible for us to head in naked as we get older, so I suggested the lake when it's inappropriate for me to do that."  
  
"But why?" Ah, it seems like Thatch finally got his wits back, "Why aren't you guys able to fork some money out to get the swim wear? It doesn't really cost a bomb."  
  
"Does swim wear actually matters? There isn't a rule or law stating that we HAD to wear those if we want to be in the water." Ace snap back, getting agitated when he couldn't find the main reason for this conversation.  
  
"Ace, Garp is suppose to take care of the three of you right? He's the fucking Deputy Commissioner of Police, he earns more than enough money to get those stuffs for you guys."  
  
Silence filled the air for a while, everyone turned their attention to Ace when Thatch didn't receive his answers. As soon as everyone spot Ace chewing out his lower lip, they knew that Ace is debating with himself.  
  
It doesn't bother anyone, the first thing that everyone notice is that Ace doesn't really like to talk about what the three of them had to go through before Oyaji decided to take them under his wings, Ace is always willing to talk about the 'troubles' which Luffy had gotten himself into and how Sabo and him had to save him.  
  
But that's about it.  
  
No one truly knows what they had to do to survive each day, no one knows what Ace had to do to get more than enough food on the table (that should be the toughest task, especially when all of them see their appetite for the first time). No one wanted to pry into Ace's past, hell, no one wanted to pry into anyone's past.  
  
However that doesn't stop the their curiosity from blooming.  
  
Judging from Ace's defeated posture, their third youngest knew that he couldn't run away without explaining it to them anymore. Perking everyone's attention on him, including those who were already drunk.  
  
"Look here," Ace started as he comb his fingers through his hair in a kind of distress manner, "Our childhood isn't exactly normal." Pausing for a while, "Actually you can't even call it childhood. It's more like a survival game to the three of us. Even when you minus out the 'trainings which all of us had to go through."  
  
"It's true that the old gramps do make quite a bit of money due to his job, and that's kind of the reason why we do not need to worry about having a roof over our heads because gramps paid for that when I was first sent to him."  
  
"You have a roof over your head and yet your childhood is a survival game?" Haruta exclaimed.  
  
It maybe due to the tone that Haruta used that caused Ace to snap back at him, "Hey, having a fucking roof over your head doesn't mean that everything will be solved. It's the same as living under the same roof as your parents yet never experiencing the thing called 'parental love'." Panting harshly for a few minutes, Ace decided to just ignore the comment made by Haruta so that he could avoid a fight, "The only reason why gramps even bought that house is because of me. The timing for him to finally leave the office is so unstable that he doesn't want to leave me alone in the house, it also doesn't help that the old gramps have made quite a lot of enemies who would do anything to get at him. By buying a second house and blackmailing Dandan who is my former main care-taker, the old man was just trying to protect me."  
  
"Blackmail?" Vista asked as he comb his mustache.  
  
Snorting softly, "Ya, blackmail. Dandan is the leader of a bandit group, the old man knew about it but have always close both of his eyes to what they do, mainly because they don't harm anyone at all. The old man trust Sengoku and Aokiji with his life however they are in the same line of work and wouldn't be able to keep an eye on me 24/7. While the old man did trust Dandan to a certain extant, the blackmail was to make sure that the bandit group would take care of me instead of leaving me alone somewhere isolated and die from starvation."  
  
Soft groans could be heard all over the room, trust Garp to do something like this and not expecting the plan to back-fire on him.  
  
"I take it that the blackmail worked to a certain extent?" Vista asked once again, worried and yet glad that his Oyaji had been interested in the three of them. God knows what might happen to them if things didn't happen the way they did.  
  
Ace nodded, "Dandan usually have one of her crew to come and confirm that I am still alive, have not gotten myself suck into any trouble at the end of each day, make sure that the bills are paid with the money that gramps transferred to the account that he set up for me."  
  
"That still doesn't really explain the 'survival game' portion." Izou pointed out, holding up a hand to cover his mouth.  
  
Rolling his eyes at Izou, "I'm getting to that point right now." Sliding down to the ground to make himself comfortable since this 'explanation' is getting really long, "The small amount of money that the old man transfer was sometimes barely enough to cover up the bills, there are times where I was working for Dandan due to the fact that she had to use her money to cover up whatever amount is left. Once the bills are paid, there isn't any left to buy anything else, including food. To prevent myself from starving to death, I had to either hunt for meat in the forest or scavenge for food around the town. To keep the bills to the minimum, I always spent my time outside, never using anything unless there is valid reason for it however it became slightly harder to do it when Sabo joined me. But since Sabo is reall smart, he quickly figured out the reasons for all of my actions and joined me without voicing anything. Things just went downhill when Luffy joined us."  
  
The anguishing look that could be found in Ace's eyes have warned them that whatever is going to be said are all bad news.  
  
"The area where Luffy used to stay is a tight-knit community where everyone knows one another and would help one another if there is any need. Luffy have been spoilt rotten growing up there. Makino was the one who babysit Luffy, making sure that he is fed the correct amount that Luffy needed instead of the amount for feeding a child, gave him clothes, and help Luffy pay the bills with the generous amount of money that Gramps have linked to her bank account. Having never experience the thing whch is called 'shortage of money', Luffy couldn't understand most of the stuffs here even when Sabo had taken the time to explain to Luffy in the simplest manner which he could think of."  
  
Barking out bitter laughter, "We had made the wrong move of leaving Luffy in the house alone as Sabo and I headed out to hunt for food, we didn't know what the hell Luffy did until the bills came in. That idiot managed to accumulate the bills to such an insane amount that it nearly gave Dandan a heart attack when she first saw it."  
  
That last sentence got everyone blanching. They have already experienced the thing which is known as 'Luffy's utterly adorable disaster', those things never turn out well for anyone at all.  
  
"That period was like hell, Dandan didn't want to pay the bills knowing that Luffy would expect her to do that till we either move away or are old enough to take care of ourselves and not get into trouble. Everything was cut off since we couldn't pay, people were sent to our house to force us to pay our bills, when they realize there isn't any adult, they called gramps to ask him to pay the bills on our behalf. That shitty old man decided to use this chance to teach us how to survive, refusing to pay the bills, It's only because of his position that he was able to prevent us from being arrested and of course bought us some time to gather enough money. Like hell anyone will be willing to hire us, we were basically children, the consequences for child labor is too much for people to even think about doing it. Dandan wouldn't even want to pay us for helping her. The pelts that we get from our hunts and whatever we managed to salvage and fix from the trash aren't able to cover it."  
  
Ace explanation paused for a while, biting harshly down onto his lower lip. Marco knew that his younger brother must have done something horrible that he doesn't even want the others to even know about it.  
  
"And?" Marco started, hoping that it would be more than enough to get Ace to continue without leaving all of them hanging like this, "What did you resort to, yoi?"  
  
Fidgeting slightly, "I resorted to snitching." voice so soft it's as if the police would arrive at their dorrstep if Ace speaks with his normal tone, "I didn't have a choice left, it's either doing that or our only roof will be taken away from us! While we were kind of like street rats, but at least we have a house to keep us out of the harsh weathers, Luffy's immune system isn't good enough to cope with the harsh weathers. Hell, we will, without a doubt, freeze to death during the winters like what happen to the others!"  
  
Ace is getting sxtremely aggitated at this point of time.  
  
"Calm down, yoi. None of us will blame you for whatever you had to do to survive." Using his calmest pitch, somehow Marco managed to get Ace to calm down slightly. Waiting for a few more seconds, "What or actually who came in to save the three of you?"  
  
"Makino. She finally got the old man to spill where he had sent Luffy to, came to visit Luffy and to make sure that Sabo and I are taking care of him only to find out that we were on the verge of losing the house. Thank goodness that Gramps was still paying her for whatever she had done for Luffy, Makino used those money to pay for our bills first. When the three of us are not around, she had called him to, I believe, scold him for allowing something like that to happen. It still didn't change the old man's mind about the amount of spending money he sent each money, on the other hand we know that Gramps is terrified of her. Makino is really a godsend to us, she was the reason why we have all of those clothes even when we couldn't afford them, she even coerced us into going to the bar that she owns when we couldn't feed ourselves. We did ended up eating at her bar for a few times although Sabo and I refused to let it happen regularly. God knows that we will force her into bankruptcy with our gigantic appetite. At that point of time, I did everything that I could to keep all three of us alive, giving up my share of food when it's insufficient to feed three people, I am even willing to sacrifice myself if it meant that Sabo and Luffy didn't need to worry about anything else in the future. Well, that was all before you guys came to take all of us in."  
  
The bright grin at the end broke everyone's heart and yet at the same time acted like a healing balm. Leaving everyone unable to produce a good enough answer to end this conversation.  
  
______________________________________________________________________________  
  
Tension still sits in the air around the house even when it's been hours since Ace had shared his childhood with all of them, he wouldn't lie that he have always been curious about the trio's past except that it's kind of a unspoken and unwritten rule that no one will pry into anyone's past unless that person started a conversation about it or it's an emergency.  
  
That talk just left a bitter taste in his mouth, with his mind conjuring out images of what the trio might have looked like if Oyaji's interest wasn't aroused by the news and reports he heard about them. It took Thatch and Izou to get his mind away from those 'might be' and 'would be'.  
  
Leave it up to Thatch; their Prank Master, and Izou; their party planner, to plant the seeds of ideas into his brain. Only a small handful of people knew about it; he had to inform them about the surprise, and have deem it a good idea.  
  
All that's left, is to wait till the sun rise before the plan could work.  
  
______________________________________________________________________________  
  
Being woken up as soon as the sun raises is not something that Ace had planned to do on the first day of his precious summer break, but he isn't able to get comfortable or even fall back asleep when someone is slowing pulling his blanket away from him. When he finally had enough of that annoying sensation. cracking his eyes open slightly to see who the culprit is, he came face to face with his older blond lover.  
  
Still spotting the usual lazy eyes, with a gentle smile on his face without the guilt of waking him up, "Come on, Ace. Wake up, yoi. We have to get something before we set off for the beach."  
  
When Marco notice that Ace isn't going to make a single move; not even with the promise of breakfast is about to get Ace out of bed, Marco didn't have much of a choice left. Carrying his younger boyfriend up with the fire-man hold, Marco headed to the bedroom which is in every bedroom. There had been some really embarrassing incident involving some of their sisters and Thatch, Marco never really got the full story but it's more than enough to get Oyaji to renovate the house.  
  
"Marco, why in the world did you wake me up this early in the morning?" Ace whined from where he is sling over Marco's shoulder.  
  
"It's a surprise, yoi. You'll understand later on."  
  
While the answer didn't stop Ace from whinning or muttering curses under his breath but it did woke him up as Ace walked into the bathroom alone. Marco did feel slightly guilty for waking Ace up, he knows that the younger male always uses the first day of his break to catch up on sleep that he has lost every semster, his narcolepsy attacks didn't help the younger raven much at all even if Ace did have the pills to control it but everyone knows that he loathe using the pills.  
  
With nothing else to do but wait, Marco decided to make himself useful by helping Ace to pack whatever the raven might need for their trip to the beach later on. God knows how long they will take to get the surprise for Ace.  
  
"Now will you tell me what the surprise is about?" the pouting on Ace's face didn't help to prove his displeased.  
  
Rolling his eyes at the sight, "Just quickly get ready, eat your breakfast and you'll find out the reason why I decided to wake you up this early in the morning yoi."  
  
______________________________________________________________________________  
  
Eyes darting around the shop, Ace would say that he is as smart as Sabo but it doesn't take a genius to figure out the reason why Marco had woken him up early in the morning to bring him here.  
  
"Is this about the conversation that we had yesterday?"  
  
"Might be?" Along with a shrug as his answer, Marco's expression didn't change even when Ace shoot him with an unimpressed look.  
  
Ace might have a good instincts to know when someone is lying just by their expression, somehow Marco and Oyaji always throws him off. Especially when they expression doesn't change a single bit even when they are announcing terrible news about their situation.  
  
"Just to make things clear, I'm not affected by this just because of Thatch's reaction." Crossing his arms across his chest, "While I do confess that I am hot-headed and would sometimes take things and situation badly but the fact that I have never owned any swim wear doesn't affect or even bothered me at all. Like really."  
  
Shrugging his shoulders once again, "Doesn't matter, yoi. I want to buy it for you." when Marco noticed that Ace is going to continue arguing, interrupted him, ""It doesn't matter" stressing on his tone to tell Ace that it's the end of this 'arguement'.  
  
It took a while for his younger boyfriend to get over it, but when Ace finally did, the smile on his face is one that was never directed at him before. The smile which Ace normally show for the his two other brothers, the smile that literally say 'I-am-so-glad-that-you-are-in-my-life' and 'you-are-so-precious-to-me'.  
  
"Thanks, Marco."  
  
It only lasted for a few seconds before the smile that is usually spotted on Ace's face came back. "I spotted one that has flames on the edge and it _looks_ so _cool_! There's a high chance that I might be getting that. Oh, but the orange one looks nice too."  
  
Okay, maybe Marco should step in to prevent Ace from getting any obnoxious swimming shorts. He didn't want to hear or even find the need to get his ears chewed off by Izou; and Thatching laughing loudly, because Ace's taste in fashion is something which no one will be able to ever understand.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a whole bunch to everyone who have read this, bookmarked it, and even gave me kudos. This isn't the first time for me to write fanfiction however this is the first time to upload one, so it just blow me away with the amount of hits which I am getting. Let's not even talk about the impact the kudos and bookmark have on me.
> 
> To Angel0940 and Poemado, a HUGE thank you for leaving the wonderful comments!! Sorry for not replying as I was rushing this chapter out before the deadline which I have set for myself, and I still failed. SORRY but THANK YOU!
> 
> After I had finish writing this whole thing and look at the title again, it doesn't really fit this chapter right? Cause I only gave a short glimpse of the buying process, if whatever I've written could be counted as a 'buying process'. But my main focus on this chapter was about Ace's past and it's kind of more than enough for me? 
> 
> As for the other chapters, I haven't even start on them yet. I do have a basic outline for chapter three but it needs to be cleaned up and maybe do some outlines for the other chapters. I might take a while (maybe a week or two? Maybe even longer) to get the next chapter up, so I can't confirm the time here. The others might not be as long as this chapter, as I've said, this chapter just took a life on it's own (by grabbing all of my energy). There will be roughly eight chapters in total but it isn't finalized yet, there might be more, it totally depends on the answers which I will be getting for the question which I am going to ask.
> 
> Do you guys want to see a chapter about Marshall. D. Teach's betrayal? 
> 
> I don't really need the answer soon cause it won't happen till after chapter six. But I would like some extra time to make some plans for it, cause I only have like a super duper small plot bunny in my mind and that's about it. But ya, do let me know what you guys think about the question and also about the chapter!


	3. Day at the Beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally the trip to the beach! But will it end like what they actually planned?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, it took me more than a week to finally finish this. I just couldn't get the ending of this chapter to my liking at all, even now, there is still a nagging sensation that tells me this isn't what I want. Didn't help that I had lost the original version which I had spent days on (with my creative juice gushing out non-stop) and my brain had stopped functioning at that moment, tried jolting my memories of what I had actually typed out and failed. Horribly.
> 
> Still the same warning about the grammars, and really won't know when I could dish out the next chapter. But please do look forward to it!

 

It was suppose to be relaxing trip to the beach, where all of those people who have been whining about needing this trip to fully relax and recharge their body and mind, this trip is also for those who are still studying, to take the time away from all of the stress.  
  
He should have known better.  
  
Really.  
  
He had only taken his eyes off everyone for 45 minutes and this is how all of them end up?  
  
How the _hell_ did all of them get their hands on alcohol? He had pulled himself out of bed at the crack of dawn to keep an eye on Thatch as their Prank Master packed the food for this trip, while he had to leave for a while; for the surprise which he had been planning for Ace, but he had appointed Jozu to take over his position until he return.  
  
There's no way in hell where Jozu would turn a blind eye and allow Thatch to sneak alcohol into the items, the giant is too strict to allow something like that slip pass his eyes. The fact that both Jozu and him had experienced this situation before and have sworn to _NEVER_ allow that incident to happen again speaks a lot.  
  
And what the hell is Boa Hancock doing over here at the beach with her sisters?! It's only making the situation worse than the last time he had to go through.  
  
"Crap!" he curses out. Letting go of the beach umbrellas which had been missing from their list of 'items-to-bring-to-the-beach' and dash to where his brothers are sneaking closer and closer to the gang of girls who no one should ever go near to.  


* * *

  
  
Looking at the situation happening in front of him, it just made Ace speechless.  
  
Before both Marco and him left to get both the towels and beach umbrella; because somehow those two items were missing from the bunch of stuffs which they had to bring to the beach, from one of the stall which they had drove pass, every single one of them were still sober. They didn't even take that long at all, if Marco hadn't stop him from buying food from every single stall which they had walked pass, they would have taken longer than 45 minutes.  
  
He had thought that he had seen the craziness from this family which Marco and Izou have been warning him about after attending his first party held by Whitebeard, he wouldn't lie but he had compared the craziness he had experienced from the Whitebeard gang to the ones which he had experienced with Luffy. Whatever the Whitebeard gang had thrown at him couldn't be compared with the ones which Luffy had managed to get himself into.  
  
But even his baby brother understood that the mixture of ocean and alcohol would end up with nothing but chaos and have never tried that, of course Luffy wouldn't try anything like mixing ocean and alcohol together due to the fact that his baby brother didn't even like the taste of alcohol at all.  
  
What makes this whole situation worse is that Boa Hancock and all of her sisters are all here at the beach.  
  
Renowned for her beauty, her powers and of course her deep hatred for all men. Ace would say that he is friends with her -his baby brother was the one to introduce Hancock to him-, there is just a small portion deep down inside of him that fears her. Not because of her hatred, while he isn't a masochist -far from it- and have kind of gotten used to Hancock's cold attitude.  
  
It's the change once she found out about his relationship with Marco. The change was so huge that it threw him off; he still couldn't get pass the change, and he wasn't alone for the ride. Both Sabo and Marco were stunned and Sabo still couldn't stop complaining about Hancock's reaction to him.

Who knows that the one who is in love with his baby brother (someone who have never expressed any interest in having a relationship at all) would be a yaoi fan.  
  
Anyway, that's not the main problem right now. Some of his intoxicated brothers are slowing moving towards Hancock and her sisters, no doubt coming up with lines to flirt with her which will only end up with their asses kicked.

That would suck seriously. But they kind of deserve it.

Because they had actually start drinking the alcohol while Marco had been forcing him to give up on buying all of those food so that the both of them could get back here as soon as possible.

Plus Marco is making his way over to that group, his older boyfriend should be able to handle the situation. And maybe he could  _finally_ grab some food to calm the demand his stomach have been making during the walk to the stall until Marco requested for his help.  


* * *

  
  
"Stop, yoi! That's a fucking live octopus that you're putting into your mouth!" A mad scramble to that group. "Ace! Stop that group from heading to the cliff yoi!"  
  
"Roger!" a cloud of dust is left behind. "I don't care whether you guys needed to show off how awesomely manly you are, that cliff is out of bounds to everyone. I will not allow you to get up there." A huff of disbelieve, "And no, those pouts won't work on me at all so you can wipe the creepy look off your face."  
  
"Shit! Someone stop Haruta from getting to the alcohol yoi!" when no one move, "Stefan yoi, stop Haruta!"  
  
"Woof!"  
  
"MARCO! They are getting their hands on a _PUFFER-FISH_!"  
  
" _WHAT_! _How_ the fuck-?!"  
  
"Crap! Stefan, leave Haruta. Help me with the idiots that are heading for the cliffs!"  
  
Two distinct splashes signal that Marco must have done a professional throw of both the puffer-fish and the octopus back into the ocean, it's a pity that no one had gotten it down on video. It would have been funny to show everyone the video once they are sober or maybe next year.  
  
"Stop heading towards Hancock-san and her sisters yoi!" a few loud thumps, "If you guys wanted to be beaten up that badly, I can do the beating for you yoi!"  
  
"Oh my _God_! Jozu seems to be drowning!" when no one made the move to help Jozu, "Stefan, leave me with this group and go and help Jozu!"  
  
"Izou! Oyaji! Stop sitting down there to watch the show! Come and help us yoi!"  


* * *

  
  
"Okay, that's it! I have _enough_ of this yoi." A loud pain-filled yelp and the thump of a body falling to the ground, "Stefan, herd all of those _idiots_ to me. I will knock all of them out yoi."  
  
A single bark is Stefan reply.  
  
Oh boy.  
  
_That_ is the signal for the start of a Battle Royale that will happen as soon as all of the drunkards are within Marco's reach.  
  
In broad daylight.  
  
On the beach.  
  
Filled with others who do not know the craziness or even experienced the craziness that follows after every single member who belongs to Whitebeard.  
  
Cue all of the jaw-dropping reaction, the flinches and gasps when never-ending punches are dished out, all the colors draining away from people's face that caused Ace to question where did the blood went and of course the debate of whether it's a good idea to actually report this to the police so that they could stop the man-slaughter happening in front of them (not like anyone is strong enough to take on a fully-pissed-off Marco) or the police being dispatched will suffer the same fate as the others.  
  
Among the noises created by Marco (the noises of things breaking, the screams filled with pain, the barking from Stefan preventing anyone from escaping and of course the sound of skulls hitting the ground) the comforting and unique laughter that belongs to Whitebeard boomed as a background music.  


* * *

  
  
One of the Whitebeard members' reputation is fearless. And it's kind of true.  
  
They do not fear a lot of things. Hell, all of them have gone against Sengoku and Garp in a fight and that does say a lot of about them.  
  
And so, a lot of them will tell you that they did not _meekly_ walk pass Marco as they pile into the van that is actually large enough to fit everyone in. But they would say that they didn't like how Marco is spilling out the aura of being disappointed in all of them as they are within his sight. No sane person in the world will ever like  _that_ feeling.  
  
A small voice inside their mind kindly informed them that they should _know_ what caused that or at least remember bits and pieces of what happen. The thing is, no one could actually remember what happened.  
  
Even when the bruises are all starting to bloom all over their bodies, worse is that Haruta, Jozu and even Vista are spotting the same thing. Everyone knew that the three of them are usually the ones who doesn't cause that much trouble for Marco -Jozu and Vista- or they could get away from the troubles that they did easily -Haruta-, so if the three of them also have their asses kicked, it meant that whatever trouble they had gotten into must have been huge.  
  
Try as they might to put the blame on their one and only Prank Master; Thatch, but it's kind of hard to do it after they compared the amount of bruises Thatch have to the rest of them.  
  
It looked like Thatch had been used as a punching bag or a training dummy for Marco.  
  
And this was suppose to be a _relaxing trip_ for all of them.  
  
A trip where they could _finally_ relax, releasing all of the pinned up stress that have piled up inside of them and basically enjoying the time with their family members by spending time with them as it is hard to be able to gather everyone at one spot.  
  
But being a Whitebeard crew, something will happen.  
  
Just like how three youngest will somehow find themselves attracting trouble.

Just like how their three youngest will always claim that instead of searching for trouble to dive into, they just somehow  _always_ managed to stumble into it.

Maybe they should start using that excuse.

 

* * *

  
  
He couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his face when he look at all of the peaceful sleeping faces spotted on everyone's face. Even Stefan is snoring by his feet.  
  
While he did feel guilty for puling the strings but the sudden appearance of winkles on Marco face had alert everyone. With everyone asking him if there is something which they could do to help the stress that Marco is experiencing.  
  
Due to Marco's personality; that everyone knew really well, there's no way where he will allow others to worry over him, there's no way where they would know what they could actually do to help Marco. The only plan he could come up with is to help his eldest to get rid of the pinned up stress after his work is done.  
  
To people who doesn't know Marco well enough, they would think that the plan that he had came up with wouldn't help Marco to de-stress and would actually just create more stress for him.  
  
But he knew Marco way better than anyone else in the house. He was the one who had taken care of Marco who was still a baby when his blood sister went out to satisfy her cravings of either alcohol or drugs or maybe even both, he was the one who had taught Marco everything that he doesn't know because his own blood sister didn't want to be bothered with a child, he was the one who had filed a report to the police claiming that his sister couldn't take care of Marco when she refused to let the both of them meet and he is worried about the safety of the child, the one who had fought for Marco's custody when his sister have finally been put behind bars for child abuse and yet the judges wanted to let Marco live with his brother-in-law's parents who have criminal records and wouldn't be a good choice for a child who had under went abuse to live with, the one who is there when the police found out that his fears came true and have finally given him the custody for Marco and the one who have been there to help Marco get over the terror which he had faced for so many years of his life to shape the child to who he is today.  
  
There's no way where his plan wouldn't work. And really, how could one not use all of his pinned up stress and turn them into anger to deal with the situation which he had thrown?  
  
Marco is definitely not a saint, the sadistic smirk on his face when he had been punching the lights out of everyone have already proven that fact for him.  
  
"Oyaji." Izou (the only one have enough energy to drive all of them back) had snapped him away from his thoughts, "Looks like our plan worked."  
  
"Gurararara, yes it seems to have worked."  
  
The smile on Izou's face is more than enough answer for him, the calming music that Izou had played on the van's stereo could be heard.  
  
"I am going to play the video which I had taken tomorrow. Maybe after lunch? Wait, during lunch would be a better choice. And no matter what you do, you can't stop me."  
  
"Gurararararara. Cheeky brat."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the small glimpse about Marco's past. I was planning to put in what Marco does for a living but it just wouldn't fit. At all. 
> 
> Thanks for reading guys!


	4. Sunburn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe that I managed to finish this! Like seriously.
> 
> I wasn't able to think of a really good enough plot for this prompt, and was planning to discard this until it hit me.
> 
> In the head. Hard. Really, really hard.
> 
> It took me a while to get my muse flowing, I wouldn't deny that for all the chapters that I have written, I always have problems coming up with a good start and a good ending to satisfy me.
> 
> I haven't really read through the whole thing because I wanted to upload this as soon as possible, so please do pardon the grammar mistakes that I have made and some spelling mistakes.
> 
> Please enjoy this chapter!!!

 

* * *

 

It's nearly impossible for the Whitebeard's Main Mansion to be silent, with the amount of people who live in it and also the amount of people who would head there to visit Oyaji. Even if they had tried their best to make the minimum amount of noise they could, it would soon be forgotten as soon as all of them gathered together or just meet in the hallway.

 

  
But for today, it's silent.

 

  
Way too silent.

  
  
Due to the hang-over from the spiked booze that nearly everyone had drank yesterday.

  
  
He did love his family dearly (everyone know about his love for them) and do like the comfort he feel from the noises created daily by all of his family members but there are times when he needed to get away from his family members before he actually beat the shit out of them due to the problems which they had left for him to clean up.

  
  
And after all of the work which he had to do yesterday?

  
  
The silence is the best damn thing which had happened to him this year, ignoring everyone's palish-green faces, he headed to his seat at the dinning table where Thatch appeared with his food. Before he could touch his food, Marco noticed the smile that is on Izou's face.

  
  
The smile that meant nothing good.

  
  
The same smile that Izou would give before he humiliate you so badly that you wish you were never born.

  
  
Cracking his brain to see if he had done anything to annoy or even annoyed Izou for the past few months, Marco came up with nothing. Shooting a quick look towards where Oyaji is sitting at the end of the table with his 'throne', the soothing smile shot back at him have managed to calm him down. Slightly at least.

  
  
Because he know that the others will soon demand him to stop Izou.

  
  
Like hell he have the power to stop Izou once he is in his 'zone', it might not have been the first time for this to happen and he have always told the rest over and over again that he couldn't do a single thing once Izou is in the 'zone'. The only time when he have the power to order Izou is when Oyaji isn't there to give the command and he have to take over Oyaji's position. All the others could do at that point of time is to go to Oyaji and request him to ask Izou to stop humiliate them.

  
  
Shrugging the whole thing off for now, Marco decided to just enjoy the peace and quiet for now. God knows what will happen later on.

 

* * *

  
  
True to Marco's fear, Izou had gotten his hands on some blackmail materials on the rest of his brothers.

  
  
All of his brothers couldn't believe the video which Izou had taken, slowly all of them started falling down onto the ground on all fours with a dark cloud floating over their heads as they moan and groan about the humiliation they are feeling.

  
  
Sighing out, there's nothing which Marco could do, at least all of them would now know the length of pain which Ace and he had to go through yesterday. And would also know that he wouldn't have the patience to deal with anyone of them.

  
  
Taking a quick glance at Oyaji who is still sitting on his throne-like chair, having the best view of everyone's reaction. The smile on his Oyaji's face is more than enough to tell him that Oyaji knew about the video and have allowed Izou to show them.

  
  
No one said that Oyaji is sadistic.

  
  
And off to the side, he could see Ace being pulled into the dramatic entries that Thatch frequently dishes out. He still couldn't figure it out, even after all the times he had spent with Ace; be it with their family members or alone, he had even told Ace about the clues which he should search for whenever Thatch

  
  
And off to the side, he could see Thatch pulling Ace into one of his dramatic entries that he frequently have to do. He still couldn't figure it out, even after all the times he had spent with Ace; be it with their family members or alone, he couldn't figure out why do Ace falls for Thatch's dramatic acts.

  
  
Hell, he have already informed Ace that if Thatch is in one of his dramatic acts, he is just trying to lighten up the mood or you know, wanted to find something to be dramatic about. And no matter how many times Ace have seen it, he will always fall for it and be pulled in to help out Thatch's 'dramatic acts' which will end in everyone laughing at the both of them.

  
  
Pinching the bridge of his nose, sometimes he just couldn't figure out the reason some of his family members do those things or even fall for those things.

  
  
Deciding to just ignore them for now, he took a quick glance around the dinning room once again. Something have been nagging at him ever since he had taken a step inside here, at the start was just a small tugging sensation but now it had turned into a full blown screaming alarm.

  
  
Marco couldn't figure out what is wrong at all, he had first thought that it's due to Izou's intention so he ignored it. But now, there should be nothing which he had to worry about; unless Thatch is planing a prank to pull on him, and everyone is within his sight.

  
  
He had totally believed that nothing was wrong until his eyes ranked over to where Oyaji is sitting.

  
  
Someone important is missing.

 

* * *

   
  
Ace just wondered _when_ will he be able to finally relax from having any sort of stress. Luffy was the main source of his stress when he had been younger, worried over the safety of his idiotic brother who had such a trusting personality that a total stranger (who he had met only a few minutes earlier) would know about his whole life story, where he stay, who his father and grandfather are, and who he live with within the hour. He could remember having a special kind of ulcer for that.

  
  
And that didn't count the other things which he had to worry over, like the bills, whether he could place food on the table that could fill all three of them. What he had to do to bring in cash when the money send by that old man isn't enough to cover up everything.

 

When Whitebeard and decided to pull the three of them under his wing and protection, he couldn't trust them, not after what he had to go through in his childhood. He had to keep his guard up when Luffy and Sabo have both been taken in by Whitebeard and his crew's action, he is the oldest among the three of them and also the strongest among them, he will need to protect them when something happen or when the Whitebeard crew betrayed them.

  
  
When the Whitebeard crew finally changed his mind about them, he had to worry about his heritage, it's not something which a lot of people know. The fear of being rejected, the fear of being thrown away after experiencing the joy of having people accept him for who he is had eaten him up from the inside. That continued to happen until he have finally confessed to both Whitebeard; Marco had been hidden yet near enough to hear about the whole thing,

  
  
When the Whitebeard crew finally managed to change his mindset about them, he had to start worrying about his heritage. That man who is suppose to be his father was one of Whitebeard's enemy, Ace wouldn't know what the others will do once they knew or found out about this information.

  
  
Will he be handed over to the police because he shares the same blood as that man? Locked behind bars because of what that man had done to the world and the same blood flows through his body? Or would the Whitebeard crew tie him up while they take turned to beat their rival's son?

  
  
Because of those fears, he had to take note of what he said to the rest, because of those fear, he had to make sure that no one make the connection of him to that man, because of those fears, he couldn't be himself just in case Whitebeard or some of the older crew member notice his facial features are pretty much like that man, because of those fears, he didn't allow himself to become closer to the rest of the Whitebeard crew.

  
  
If Sabo and Luffy hadn't given him the tongue leashing (something which he totally deserve and really Sabo was the one who had done most of the tongue leashing while Luffy just sat there and kept on throwing disappointed pouts at him), he wouldn't have confess to Whitebeard with Marco hidden in the corner of the room, out of sight yet near enough to listen to the conversation.

  
  
Their reactions was more than enough for him to shed the chains that have restraint his true personality back.

  
  
He had spent one year nearly stress-free, he didn't need to worry about Sabo and Luffy because he know the rest of the family will be keeping an eye on the both of them for him plus Luffy have some friends whom he labeled them as 'nakama' to keep an eye for him.

  
  
Sliding down onto the ground with the wall against his back, the urge to try and make things better are strong within him, however he just didn't have the knowledge to do it. Gluing his eyes to his fist as he clenched them tightly together before releasing them a few minutes later, he repeated the process over and over again, confining the urges of using his fist to make everything better and somehow solve this problem.

  
  
For this problem, there isn't any need for him to use his fist, this isn't like the Teach incident where he could use his fist to prevent Teach from harming his family and friends further, and in this situation, his rage, his fist and also his inhumane strength isn't the right things to use right now. Even if that had been the solution which he had been using to solve all of his problems, he had used it so frequently that it had became a habit for him.

  
  
None of his family needed extra work right now, not when all of them are already in distress.

  
  
"How could we forget!" Thatch suddenly hissed out, gaining everyone's attention, "How can I forget about _him_?!"

  
  
He could already see the self-destruction that Thatch is heading to and decided to step up to prevent his best friend from falling over.

  
  
"Thatch, you're not the only one. All of us had forgotten about _him_." the tone that Ace used had warned Thatch about arguing this case.

  
  
"But I am always the one to deliver _his_ breakfast! How could I not notice that _he_ isn't there?!" when no one replied him, "I am always the one to prepare _his_ food! And I just left them there, no question asked or even wondering where _he_ is when Oyaji walk in!"

  
  
"All of you are suffering from being hang-over because of the spiked booze yesterday."

  
  
Before Thatch could argue back, Izou had fired a warning shot with his pistol. "The both of you shut up now." The anger in his tone is more than enough to warn everyone that all of Izou's patience had disappeared, "This isn't the damn time for the both of you to be arguing, all of us can follow the both of you on the guilt trip later on. We don't _NEED_ the additional stress now."

  
  
Thatch and Ace; who are already hugging each other in fear, could only nod their head in agreement. The shaking so fast that others are worried about their neck could snap anytime.

 

* * *

  
  
Looking at the rest of their family who are all camping right outside of their infirmary, with worry written all over their faces. He really wish that other people could see this scene right now, it would totally change everyone's mindset about all of them being 'scary'.

 

  
Without a single doubt.

  
  
Not when all of his brothers and sisters have all transformed into 'mother-hen'.

 

"How is _his_ condition?"

  
  
"Is _he_ going to be okay now?"

  
  
"Are you sure that you don't need to take a longer look at _his_ injuries? _His_ whimpers and moans sounded really bad."

  
  
"Do you think that _he_ will be able to eat some food? I'll rush down to the kitchen to prepare it."

  
  
The questions bombed him, leaving him unable to answer any of the questions at all. And before he could do anything, Marco walked out of the room that he had just came out from.

  
  
"Shut up yoi!" Marco shouted out. He might always look lazy with his expression, whenever Marco talk to someone his voice is soft and low enough for his every conversation to be private even in a crowded room however when it is needed, Marco would changed the tone that he use. The commanding tone never failed to catch everyone's attention, it helps when Marco is the First Division Commander.

  
  
Silence soon meet his face, giving Marco a quick nod of his head, thanking him for his assistance.

  
  
" _His_ condition is stable." He didn't miss the loud sighs of relief. Mother-hens.

  
" _He_ didn't need a trip to the hospital?"

  
  
Before he could even answer that stupid question, Marco had done it for him, "Are _you_ questioning Namur?" His icy cold tone was more than enough to tell the idiot that he had crossed the line over here.

  
  
Namur still couldn't figure out the reason why Marco is so defensive of him; other than Ace of course, he might have needed it when he had been younger and still uncertain about his worth and appearance, but he didn't need it now.

  
  
Guess Marco isn't always able to hold back his 'mother-henish' tendency. He should really answer now, before the others think that he is offended by that stupid comment.

  
  
"I think my medical license and all the time I have been called out for emergency is more than enough to answer that question." Combing his hand through his hair, "Don't worry, _he_ is just suffering from some sunburn, I have applied some medication for it but it seems we will need to keep _him_ in the house for the next few days. To make sure that all of the sunburn are cured before letting _him_ out under the sun."

  
  
"But _his_ whimpers and moans sounded way more serious than the pain from a sunburn. It sounded way more like _he_ was stabbed." Thatch decided to open his mouth before he could even think. Something that he always did on a daily basis, driving some of them mad with this habit.

  
  
Pinching the bridge of his nose, "Looks like all of you are suffering from some hearing impairment, I shall repeat what Namur said one more time yoi." Marco glared at Thatch before taking a quick sweep around the hallway, "I want all of you to listen up and not make the both of us repeat once again."

  
  
When no one open their mouth, "Stefan's condition is fine. The sunburn he is suffering from isn't that serious that he needed to be sent to the hospital yoi, but we will need to keep him indoors until he heal. Being a white dog meant that he is prone to sunburn, the fact that we have forgotten to apply sunscreen on him yesterday was the cause of it. Namur had to shave off some of his fur to treat the sunburn, so don't be surprise to see Stefan's famous mustache is missing yoi."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never expected it did ya?
> 
> I didn't even know that dogs could suffer from sunburn until I actually googled it (have never own a dog or even a cat in my whole life).
> 
> The actual victim was suppose to be Marco, but I decided to give him a break from everything. 
> 
> And look! Izou is in here and Namur too! Hope you guys have enjoyed this!


	5. Broken Air-conditioning + Ice cream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo~! I can't believe that I took a week to get everything done. I thought that it will take me at least two weeks before finishing this chapter.
> 
> Warnings!! Grammar mistakes, might contain spelling mistakes too!

 

It didn't take that long before all members of the Whitebeard crew melted down onto the marble tiled floor trying their best to search for a spot to cool down from this insane suddenly heat wave.  
  
  
Usually the heat wouldn't have that much of an impact on Ace, and the countless amount of air conditioning located all around the mansion would have shield all of them from the evil heat. That's why everyone was left in disbelieve when Oyaji had announced ALL of their air conditioning have broken down.  
  
  
_AT. THE. SAME. DAMNED. TIME._  
  
  
It had been amusing to witness adults some who were way older than him breaking down; some of them are even close to crying while some others have fallen down onto all fours, he kind of regretted that he had mentally laughed at their reaction.  
  
  
Within a few hours after the announcement, the floor had been littered with people who are all weak to heat, trying to find a sport which was cool enough. As the time ticked by, the amount of people who had stuck themselves to the floor increased until their natural body heat had actually warmed up their marble tilted floor.  
  
  
Izou didn't joined the rest, insisting that it's beneath him to do something like that, however he had changed from his usual kimono clothes to just a simple singlet and shorts. Even his make-up have been removed, knowing full well that the make-up would have melted in this heat.  
  
  
It hadn't been that bad until it reached noon, the floor was instantly covered in the perspiration produced by everyone. Thank God Marco had the foresight to retrieve their old inflatable pool deep within their storage room; that is filled to the brim with their old items which none of them wanted to throw away, pumped air into it and filled it to the brim with water.  
  
  
Everyone had ran out screaming out their thanks at the top of their lungs, uncaring about the fact that they are still in their clothes and just jumped into the pool. A short fight had even broke out as the pool wasn't large enough to fit everyone in until Oyaji had suggested the others to head to their local pool.  
  
  
Leaving all of the Commanders and a small handful of their division members in the house, their usual repairman have been notified about their problem and would head here to fix them as soon as they are done with their other jobs, leaving Foosa to figure out what the problems were and try fixing them as much as he could.  
  
  
As much as Ace would like to join them in the only relieve from the heat, he couldn't leave his spot because of one of the assignment. He would need to start on it right now to be able to submit it on the given deadline, and as much as he would like to be in the backyard he did not need Thatch's moment of idiocy to destroy all of his hard work.  
  
  
That didn't stop his longing sneak peeks at the window where all of the laughter are flowing into the room which he is in.  
  


* * *

  
  
Taking his last glance at his brothers and sisters who are all trying to fit into the inflatable pool, Marco could have joined them or at least stayed in the backyard to make sure that none of them get themselves into any kind of trouble if only his table wasn't flooded with paperwork that he wasn't able to work on due to his work.  
  
  
While Vista and Jozu had accepted his request of keeping his eyes on everyone -to make sure that no one will be getting into trouble in their backyard- Marco is still debating the pros and cons about bringing most of his paperwork into the backyard to work on them. Marco have the confident that Vista and Jozu would be able to keep their family in line, but there are times when Haruta and some other will join in to help Thatch to get escape from all of the watchful eyes so that the chief could set his prank in motion.  
  
  
Making up his mind, Marco decided to work in the backyard, he could sit near Oyaji to prevent Thatch from splashing him with the water.  
  
  
It might do him some good to change his work location and finally enjoy the summer heat, plus doing his paperwork in the backyard meant that if he have any questions or anything that needed approval, Oyaji is within his reach.  
  


* * *

  
  
Glaring at the two popsicle left inside the plastic bag that he is holding, Marco couldn't figure out the reason why anyone would want to head out to buy the popsicles when Thatch could have made something else for them. Plus the name of the person who had went out to grab them was what made him raise his guards up.  
  
  
Izou had went out of the house to buy it for all of them.  
  
  
_Izou._ Without his make-up or his usual get-up of kimono.  
  
  
Went out of the house to get the popsicles for all of them.  
  
  
Even if it is rude to doubt one of the small amount of brother who Marco considered are some-what-sane, but he knows all of his brothers who have attained the rank of 'Commanders', he had to work closely with all of them.  
  
  
And Izou isn't someone who is willing to do something so 'troublesome' -in Izou's term- unless there is something which he will be getting in return.  
  
  
The first thing that came into Marco's mind is that this is one of Thatch's prank and something in this plan had gotten Izou's interest to make him willing to participate in it. The main question is what had gotten Izou's attention.  
  
  
Cursing out softly, Marco quickly take out one of the popsicle to check the packaging. The ice better not have been spiked by something or he will kick the both Izou and Thatch so hard that they couldn't be able to sit on their ass for weeks.  
  
  
When nothing came up after his inspection, Marco couldn't help but just wondered if he is the one who is insane right now. Couldn't be helped when everyone; especially Thatch and Haruta, are always causing him to be paranoid with their pranks.  
  
  
Or could something else be done to the popsicles? Izou's clothes; a singlet and shorts, didn't have any hiding places like a pocket or anything like that to hide whatever he had done to the ice. The fact that the rest of his brothers and sisters have almost flatten Izou in their hasten to go their hands on the popsicles, and the two in the plastic bag are the ones left after everyone had gotten their hands on their share.  
  
  
Could Marco really have gotten so paranoid that he is going insane himself?  
  
  
But Izou had went in to pass Fossa his share of the ice and even prepared Stefan's share himself, so why didn't Izou went to pass Ace's share himself? Why make him, who is working on his never-ending paperwork in the backyard to walk the extra mile just to give Ace his share of the ice.  
  
  
Something isn't right with this whole thing.  
  
  
And really, Marco couldn't figure it out right now. Maybe he will be able to figure everything out later on?  
  


* * *

  
  
The _tongue_.  
  
  
Oh, the _fucking sinful_ TONGUE that licked it's way up from the bottom to the top of the popsicle.  
  
  
And the _lips_ that wrapped itself around the head, all _wet and pink_ due to the cold ice and the melted sweeten liquid, gave a few _quick suck_.  
  
  
Adam apple bobbing up and down to bring the sweeten goodness down to the stomach.  
  
  
The _moans_ created deep in the throat and escaped from the mouth.  
  
  
The way how the popsicle was all stuffed into the tight mouth, causing one side of the cheek to bulge out.  
  
  
The _wicked slurping_ sound being made by the male sitting directly in front of him are doing all sorts of things to him.  
  
  
Shivers running down his spine, warm blood flooding both his cheeks and down _there_.  
  
  
He couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene in front of him. No one in their right mind will be able to tear their eyes away from this sight, especially when the person is someone who they love with all of their heart, mind and soul.  
  
  
The worse thing? This scene would come back and haunt him in the night, within his dream.  
  
  
Now he could finally understand why Izou wanted him to bring the popsicle to Ace, Izou wanted him to witness this scene.  
  
  
This scene that gives him mixed feelings and reactions.  
  
  
Should he throw away all of his restrains and control and just jump on his lover or should he hold back, allow the both of them to finish whatever they needed to do and jump him later at night?  
  
  
He gotta say, the former idea is kind of winning the debate right now.  
  
  
The months spent texting and skyping with one another without being there physically really took it's tool on him.  
  
  
All the Skype calls they made did no justice to his boyfriend at all, the screen on his laptop wasn't able to bring out all of the freckles -that he found cute and love- on his boyfriend's face, the speaker wasn't able to truly bring out his boyfriend's voice.  
  
  
And now, the both of them are finally here, together. Within arm's reach. And with the sinful display?  
  
  
Hell on Earth.  
  
  
Sensing the glaze on him, Ace turned his attention from both the popsicle and his assignment to Marco who is facing him. Noting where Marco's eyes are locking on, he finally realise where or what Marco is looking at.  
  
  
"Ah. Marco, do you want to have a taste? Sorry, if I have noticed that you wanted a taste, I would have left some more for you." holding out his mint flavor popsicle to Marco, Ace couldn't prevent the blush from appearing on his face.  
  
  
Instead of a verbal answer, Marco just smack his head against the table that separate them before letting out a long groan.  
  
  
"I am going to fucking kill Izou yoi."  
  
  
"Huh?" was Ace's clever and innocent answer.  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this!


	6. Summer School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! I had to actually force myself to finish this, I guess my 'planning' (which is to think of the opening and how I am suppose to end each chapter while I write) is bloody fucking horrible.
> 
> Really terribly sorry for the wait.
> 
> Warnings: Spelling and grammar mistakes!

 

  
Sighing out as he absentmindedly write down the notes which is on the whiteboard, he isn't the only one in the classroom who doesn't want to be here right now. In fact he could actually feel the rage that everyone is directing at their lecturer.  
  
  
Not only did she forget to cover the questions and topics that will be coming out in their test, yet instead of covering it, she is actually teaching them the new lessons which they were suppose to be learning next semester.  
  
  
This isn't the only time that this lecturer had made mistakes, he could still remember the time when she didn't fully understand the assignment which she is suppose to give to them,  
  
  
This isn't actually the first time for this lecturer to make any blunders. There had been once where she had misinterpret the assignments given to them, making all of them doing a totally different thing from what the program leader had wanted. She didn't really wanted to take responsibility for the blunder that she had made, she had even blame them for it.  
  
  
  
With their grades on the line; especially those who have sponsorship to get into this school, they had to take things into their own hands. Most of them were worried that their program leader wouldn't listen to them due to the lack of evidence until one of their quieter classmate pulled out a voice-recorder stating that he had the record of when their lecturer were explaining about the assignment.  
  
  
As soon as everyone processed the information in their mind, the cheers they let out was like a firework being set off in the classroom. Hell, he could still remember that everyone of them had treated the quieter classmate like a God for a few months.  
  
  
Really, he would rather spend the time with his boyfriend than being here right now.  
  
  
Especially when he know that Marco had worked through the whole night to get rid of as much of the paperwork so that the both of them could spend the time together.  


* * *

  
  
Taking a quick glance at his best friend and older brother, to the others, they might not be able to see pass the lazy and bored expression that is always on Marco's face but since he spend so much time with their First Division Commander, he could guess what Marco is actually thinking right now.  
  
  
Actually, it isn't that hard for the others to guess the reason for Marco's sulking. Not a single soul didn't know that Marco had worked through-out the whole night, trying his best to cut down the gigantic pile of paperwork so that he could spend time alone with Ace.  
  
  
However that brat received a call from one of his classmate stating that one of their troublesome lecturer wanted all of them to head back to the University for one of her extra class.  
  
  
Thatch could say that he had never attended a University before; he went to a culinary school as soon as he graduated from high school, so he didn't really know whether this is a regular thing. What he can say is that he is getting sick of Marco sulking and being all depress like that.  
  
  
"Is there anything which we could do about this situation right now?" Thatch ask softly to his fellow Commanders who are sitting around him. "It isn't even funny for me to even prank Marco right now."  
  
  
Izou couldn;t help but just roll his eyes at Thatch's words, "Well, you could help bu not pulling any pranks on Marco for the next few days."  
  
  
"But that's what I do best!"  
  
  
"I agree with what Izou had proposed." Vista quickly cut in before Izou and Thatch could get into one of their 'argument', "The lesser pranks you pull meant that there will lesser paperwork for Marco to do which also meant that he will have more time to spend with Ace."  
  
  
"I agree!" the rest of the commanders chipped in before Thatch could try and argue for his case.  
  
  
"You guys are no fun at all. And Haruta, you're suppose to be on my side!" pouting for a few minutes, "By the way, do any of you know when will Ace come back from his University?" Thatch asked, never taking his eyes off the sulking figure of his oldest friend and his older brother.  
  
  
"No idea. But I hope that he will be able to make it back today." Haruta answered while he also turned to look at their oldest brother.  
  
  
No words needed to be exchanged between them, all of them are worried about the same thing. Worried about their older brother and whether the stress will be taking another few more years away from him.  


* * *

  
  
Grumbling under his breath while he headed back to his dorm room, Ace couldn't believe that that _bitch_ had wasted their time. All she did was write down the chapter numbers on the whiteboard and tell them to review them, that bitch didn't even go through the questions that will appear on the test.  
  
  
She kept on dragging the damn class, going on with all those stupid lessons which was supposed to be covered in the next semester that the lesson extended from two hours to four. Leaving most of them stranded here in school, leaving most of them without a choice but to head back to their dorm to spend the night here.  
  
  
Slamming the door open, the sight of his room-mate reading one of the endless amount of book isn't that surprising at all. Even the sight of his room-mate still here in the dorm doesn't surprising him, not when his poor friend have such a disgusting uncle who is related to his adoptive father.  
  
  
"Classes just ended, Ace-ya?" Trafalgar D. Water Law asked as the doctor-in-training tear his eyes away from his book long enough to see who dare to actually disturb him.  
  
  
"Ya, everyone had enough of that stupid bitch." voice coming out low and dangerous.  
  
  
"I believe that I have informed this before and I shall repeat it once again for your sake." Law dragged out, glancing quickly at Ace before returning back to his book, "I have ways and methods to get her fired and if my plans fail, Cora-san will be able to finish what I set out to do."  
  
  
"I remember, I also have ways to get that bitch fired." Ace growled out between clenched teeth as he glare out of the window.  
  
  
Shrugging his shoulder, "You know where I keep my clothes, if you need it. The spare toothbrushes are also in the same location."  


* * *

  
  
_"So you're unable to return back tonight?"_  
  
  
"Ya, the idiot we know as our lecturer had dragged the useless class for so long that almost 80% of us are stranded here." Ace answered.  
  
  
_"I see."_  
  
  
That was all the information that Ace needed to know that Marco is disappointed.  
  
  
"With Law's help, I was able to book a ticket. I'll be back there in the morning tomorrow." Injecting some cheer into his voice, Ace didn't want to hear the faint disappoint in Marco's voice. Even if Marco knew how to hide it well from almost everyone.  
  
  
_"I figure that out. But I was hoping that you could have called me to drive you home."_  
  
  
"You know full well that it will take four hours for you to get here by car and another four hour drive back. There's no way where I could ask you to do something like that when the paperwork is already piled up to your neck."  
  
  
_"And I could ask someone else to go and get you."_  
  
  
"And the both of us know that they wouldn't do it unless we are willing to do something in return. Thatch might be willing to get me back but he will be unleashing all of his pranks on you which is something that the both of us do not need to happen if we want to spend the next few days alone." Ace argue back, knowing full well that Marco will bring up Thatch.  
  
  
_"I would rather have Thatch pulling all of his pranks on me than spending another day without you by my side."_  
  
  
"I know."  


* * *

  
  
"Son, Ace wouldn't be able to make it back today?" Whitebeard asked noticing the downfallen expression on his first son who he officially adopted.  
  
  
"He's planning to stay in the dorm for another night." Marco answered, knowing that Oyaji will be able to tell what he is feeling.  
  
  
"Don't worry son, Ace will be back tomorrow." Pausing for a while, "Pass me all of your paperwork for tonight, I will finish everything."  
  
  
"O-Oyaji! There's no need for you to do it for me yoi. I'll be able to finish all of them." Marco argue back, worried about his only father figure's health.  
  
  
"Marco, I would suggest you do that. I'll help Oyaji with the paperwork, I'll even ask Jozu and Vista to help out. That way, you don't have to worry about Thatch or Haruta messing with it." Izou cut in from where he is standing in the door way.  
  
  
With two people arguing against his case, especially when those two are Oyaji and Izou; the ones who he will never win against in an argument unless it's an emergency, Marco didn't have much of a choice but to back off and just let them do whatever they want.  
  
  
Slumping slightly, in front of both Izou and Oyaji, there isn't any need for Marco to be holding himself like what he do to his other brother or how he hold himself in front of the media. The both of them could see through the wall and mask that he put on himself.  
  
  
"Oyaji, I will bring the other two tomorrow morning after breakfast." Izou shot a smirk at Marco before heading back to his bedroom.  
  
  
Leaving Whitebeard to laugh at the cheekiness of his son.  
  
  
With how all of them ended their night; Marco being forced to bring all of the paperwork to Oyaji's room, none of them would have ever expect their peace would be broken later on.  
  
  
Never fully expecting that the trouble have always been there, among all of them, brewing ever since Whitebeard spread his wings open to provide protection to those who he had taken under his wing.  
  
  
That nightmare that was suppose to exist in their dream, created by their fears, will soon happen.  
  
  
Leaving all of them wanting everything to be nothing but a lie.  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehe, look! Law appeared! Sorry if it didn't manage to capture Law perfectly.
> 
> Guess you guys could guess what the next chapter is going to be about. Don't worry! No one will die. Not under my watch.
> 
> Look forward to the next chapter!!!


	7. Shit hits the fan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Erm... I'm sorry? XD
> 
> But look! It's a long ass chapter! Over 10K words! Longest one which I have ever written! One that shocked the shit out of me! XD
> 
> Please do ignore the mistakes which I had made in the previous chapter (where the Teach incident was mentioned) I was editing my other story titled 'Opps?' which I had already posted before working on the previous chapter, and got my facts mixed up. The mistakes went unnoticed until a few days ago and I was just plain too lazy to fix them. 
> 
> Please do enjoy this chapter and tell me what you think about it!!

_Gaping silently at the place which the three of them had called ‘home’ for the past few months, it’s now engulfed in flames. The house which he had bought with his hard-earned money, the place where the three of them had fought with each other for their own rooms, the place where they had spent days making it comfortable for all of them and with their small space with their own personal item collection had all ended up in flames._

 

_“A-Ace! What’s going on?” Luffy’s panic-filled voice snapped him back to reality, ”Why is our house in flames?” his shirt tugged by two small hands that belonged to his baby brother._

 

_“I have no ideas, Lu. I have no idea.” Ace lied._

 

_He know the reason for this situation, he might be the one who had caused this situation to happen. “The house isn’t important right now, we need to search for Sabo. Keep close to me Lu, I don’t have the time to look for you if you’re missing.”_

 

_Scrambling pass the throngs of people who had gathered to watch the ‘show’, Ace didn’t have the time to rage at them. He needed to look for Sabo. Check if his younger brother managed to get away from the fire._

 

_After making sure that Sabo is safe, he will have the time to come up with a revenge plan to get back at those ‘bastards’, Sabo will be more than willing to help him with the planning. He’s sure of it, but for now, he will need to get to the rendezvous point which they had set up a long time ago (Sabo and him had to beat the information into Luffy’s brain) that’s the only place where he know Sabo will go first, and if Sabo isn’t there he will need to head to Dadan’s house._

 

_Thankfully they had set the rendezvous point along the path to Dadan’s house, there’s no need for them to backtrack._

 

_He can hear the sniffles from behind, proof that his baby brother is holding back his fears and tears in order to not annoy him any further, “Don’t worry Lu. We’re reaching soon, if Sabo isn’t there, we’ll check at the old hag’s house.”_

 

_“Uh.”_

 

_They didn’t find Sabo at the largest tree in the village which is the rendezvous point, “Let’s head to the old hag’s place now. If Sabo isn’t there, you’ll need to stay there Lu. I’ll go out and search for Sabo.”_

 

_“No! I want to help you! Don’t leave me alone there!”_

 

_“Lu, I don’t the patience to fight now. You need to stay at Dandan’s while I search, I don’t want to lose more than a few years of my life searching for Sabo and worrying about you.”_

 

_“I’m strong enough to go around the village on my own!”_

 

_“It’s not whether you’re strong or weak. You don’t remember all of the alleyways, and frequently get lose within the village, I don’t want to drag my ass all over town to search for you after finding Sabo.”_

 

_Luffy didn’t bother to reply, not when he couldn’t lie to save his own life. Ace didn’t have the patience or time to argue with his stubborn brother, he will need to ask Dadan to keep a closer eye on Luffy using any means to keep him in the house. Even if it meant having to tie him up to a pillar or to one of the forest’s tree to keep him there._

 

_“ACE! LUFFY!” Magra shouted out as soon as he could see the two young child Garp had dumped onto them. “SABO IS HERE!”_

 

_That sentence got relief sighs from the two worried brothers, the relief they felt didn’t last long at all._

 

_“HE’S BADLY INJURED, DOGRA IS PATCHING HIM UP.” Speeding up, Ace and Luffy charged pass Magra, into Dadan’s house and to the room being used as their infirmary, where it’s always used to patch all of them up from the fights which they had gotten into._

 

_Before they could rush in Dadan moved to block their way, “ **Move** out of the way old hag!” Ace hissed out, taking his anger out at the woman who had been blackmailed by Garp to take care of them._

 

_“Dogra is doing everything he_ _could to patch Sabo up, no way in **hell** I am going to let the two of you in which might cause an **infection** to set in!” She shouted back, hoping that this explanation will bring some sense to Ace._

 

_The glares that Ace shot at her only intensify, at least Ace isn’t doing anything to rush into the room right now. Dadan didn’t need the both of them to see the burn wounds that Sabo suffered from, especially Luffy. He’s too young to look at it, not when it sent chills down her spine when she first spotted Sabo stumbling to her house._

 

* * *

 

 

_Pacing around the bedroom which used to house the three of them, the irritation continue building up inside of Ace. It couldn’t be help at all, not when Dogra and Dadan had forbidden both Luffy and him from seeing the extent of Sabo’s injuries._

 

_He could understand the reason why Luffy shouldn’t be allow to see Sabo; his youngest have the predictable reaction of squeezing the life out of anyone who he is worried about, and he did understand the high risk of Sabo getting an infection but a quick peek shouldn’t do much harm right? But none of them are allowing him to even have a quick peek._

 

_He hate the feeling he gets from this whole situation right now, he doesn’t know what he could do to help his first friend, his brother, his first most important person who didn’t care about his heritage._

 

_He doesn’t know what he could do to make things better, he only have suspects in his mind but without asking Sabo there’s no way to confirm anything._

 

_And with Luffy making himself scarce for the past few days didn’t help in his situation at all, at least Magra is keeping an eye on Luffy, updating him on what Luffy is doing so that he didn’t need to drive himself insane from worrying about the two of them._

 

_The main question right now is should_ _he seek revenge for Sabo or wait for his brother to fully heal and let him join in the revenge. He didn’t want to wait, Luffy would agree with his decision, they didn’t even know how long will it take for Sabo to recover. While he isn’t supposed to know about it but Ace knew that Dadan had informed Garp about Sabo, it wouldn’t take too long before the shitty old man stormed to Dadan’s house._

 

_There’s the high chance where Garp wouldn’t allow them to operate their revenge plan; demanding that the police will be able to do something about the arson, no way in hell will he allow something like that to happen._

 

_Sabo is their brother, Sabo is their responsibility and no one else. And since he is the oldest among the three of them, he will should be the one to take most of the responsibility._

 

_Making up his mind, Ace take off to find his baby brother. He will need to let his baby brother know about his plan unless he wanted to handle a pissy Sabo and Luffy at the same time._

 

* * *

 

 

_“Listen here Lu.” Ace whispered out, knowing full well that Magra is out there some-where keeping an eye on the both of them on Dadan’s orders, “The both of us know who is the main culprit for burning our house down and I have a plan to get revenge for it.”_

 

_The dazzling smile on Luffy’s face was the brightest he had seen in the past few days, as Luffy lean forward slightly to listen to his plan, Ace quickly started whispering the phrase of the plan and also the items which they will need for their revenge._

 

_But Ace didn’t explain everything to Luffy, remembering Luffy’s inability to lie about anything and if Magra or even Dogra question Luffy about it, everything will go down the drain. He will explain once the both of them managed to gather all of the items which they will need and escape from Magra’s keen eyes._

 

_“Understood?”_

 

_“Yup! When are we going to do it?” Luffy enquire, the rarely seen ‘serious’ frown on his face._

 

_“Tonight. We will need to wait until everyone let their guards down before sneaking away from the house. Plus we had spent a few days here without making any troubles so might think that we will not be getting revenge and let their guards down.” Ace explained with Luffy agreeing with him._

 

* * *

 

 

 

_Their ‘revenge plan’ went off well at the start._

 

**_ONLY_ ** _at the start._

 

_The both of them weren’t able to get too far before someone had caught up with the both of them._

 

_Bluejam who used to be a corrupted police officer. The man Sabo and he had blackmailed for money more than six months ago, the man who had caught them, instead of handing them over to the police had requested the both of them to do some of his dirty job._

 

_Once the both of them found out the truth behind all of those instructions given to them by Bluejam; the man was going to put the whole blame on them once they had completed their instructions, instead of following Bluejam’s instruction, the both of them had sabotaged it._

 

_Sabotaged it so badly that the media and civilians caught wind of Bluejam abusing his job and rank, leaving the Superintendent to discharge Bluejam._

 

_Ace might not know how in the world did Bluejam managed to get his hands on this job, but that didn’t matter right now. He needed to make sure that this disgusting man wouldn’t touch a single hair on Luffy’s head, even if it cost him his life._

 

_Shifting his stance while pushing Luffy behind him, hiding the smaller child behind him._

 

_“Well, well. It’s been a while isn’t it? Portgas. D. Ace?”_

 

_Hissing like an enraged cat, it’s the only warning Ace is willing to give to Bluejam._

 

_“You don’t think that I am willing to let the both of you get out of here alive?” the smirk on Bluejam’s face increased in size, “I **KNEW** that the both of you will get back at Outlook III, and I can guess what the both of you will do. All I needed to do was to let the both of you into the house, get all of the valuables out, kill the both of you and everything will be mine.”_

 

_The loud laughter let out by that bastard got onto his nerves, this **IS** the second time he had been used by this disgusting man. His body coiled up, getting him ready to launch an attack at the son of a bitch in front of him. The tugging of the back of his shirt pushed the attack away from his mind, back to his baby brother who is hidden behind him._

 

_“Ace, who is he?”_

 

_“The bastard that nearly got Sabo and me into trouble. We managed to get back at him, but now he’s back once again.” He hissed back softly, not wanting to let the bastard hear anything._

 

_“Oh, it’s that ‘incident?” Luffy asked, the smile dropping from his face._

 

_Letting Ace know that his baby brother is getting angry on their behalf, “Ya. But don’t do anything stupid, if I tell you to run, you run and don’t look back. Understand?”_

 

_“NO!” Luffy roared back. Not understanding the reason behind Ace’s instructions and didn’t care about the fact that Bluejam had heard it._

 

_“Shut up Luffy.” Ace hissed out, angry at Luffy for being so stubborn and maybe alerting Bluejam about the plan which he had made in his mind, “I don’t care what you think right now and I don’t care whether you want to join me in bringing this bastard down. I need you to take everything and head to Dadan’s house, alert her about it and bring back reinforcement. He might not be a police officer anymore but there’s a high chance that he got his hands on a gun, that’s why I need you to bring Dadan and the rest back!”_

 

_Luffy didn’t answer him for a few minutes, fearing he would need to knock some more sense into his baby brother’s head and time is something which the both of them do not have right now._

 

_“I got it. Promise me you wouldn’t die.” Luffy finally answered._

 

_“Like hell I am going to die so easily.”_

 

* * *

 

 

 

_It didn’t end the way Ace had planned._

 

_Luffy didn’t manage to get far before Bluejam’s workers; who are corrupted, had cornered him. Without knowing that he had just led his baby brother into a trap, Ace had started his assault on Bluejam._

 

_It was only after he had receive a bullet wound from the gun that he knew Bluejam hidden somewhere on his body and that Luffy’s limp body had been dragged back here did Ace realise just how bad the situation is right now._

 

_And there’s nothing which Ace could do to make this situation better, not when the enemy have their hands on their baby brother._

 

_“You better surrender right now. If not I don’t know what I might do to this brat.” Bluejam shake the limp and unconscious body of Luffy who had been handed to him by one of his worker._

 

_Cursing himself mentally for not considering that Bluejam might have set a trap for them, trying to form a plan that could save Luffy’s life, Ace couldn’t form a plan that is good enough. The sight of Luffy’s beaten body, the sight of the blood that continues to flow out of the numerous amount of wound covering Luffy’s body is enough to break his brain._

 

_Ace couldn’t help but just think that he should surrender for now, until he is sure that Luffy wouldn’t be harm anymore and he will beat the crap out of everyone here. Especially Bluejam._

 

_But before Ace could even make a single move or say a single thing, spotlights tore through the trees that had hidden their form from anyone else._

 

_“Raise your hands! You’re surrounded!” a very familiar voice rang through-out the place, the resonating echo made it sound like they are really surrounded by unknown people even if the voice sounded familiar to him._

 

_“I shall repeat it again, raise your hand and surrender right now, Bluejam!”_

 

_Wait, the way how the name was shouted out and the tone that was used. A child was send down his spine._

 

_He definitely know the person. And that person is someone who he’s scared of._

 

_There’s only one person in this whole wide world that he is scared of._

 

_The old man._

 

_Snapping his head to the side where he could see someone walking towards them, Monkey. D. Garp. The old man who is their ‘appointed’ Grandfather, the old man who had forced them into his insane training, the old man who had tried his best to make all of them join the police force._

 

_No wonder he had shivers down his spine. This is the old man who had thrown a four year old Luffy into a pit filled with monkey as ‘training’, this is the old man who would just chase them around, beat the shit out of them as ‘training’ to join the police training._

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

_It took another two weeks before the shitty old man; who had forced the three of them back the house that he bought, allow them to see the extent of Sabo's injuries._

 

 

_Ace could never forget the scars that covered over Sabo's left eye, the back of his neck and his left shoulder._

 

 

_The scars that reminded him daily of how he failed to protect his brother, the scars that reminded him just how **weak**_ _he is right now._

 

 

_The same day where he made the vow to be stronger than anyone else._

 

 

* * *

 

 

The pain blooming from his forehead had woken him up from his sleep, “W-What?!” he questioned as he shoot up from his bed, wondering if they are experiencing an attack right now. Snapping his head around the room to check for enemies, it only made Ace recall _where_ he is right now.

 

 

“ ** _WHAT THE HELL LAW_** _?!”_ Ace roared out, glaring at his room-mate who is standing beside his bed in their school dorm.

 

 

“ _Revenge.”_ The icy cold tone that Law uses had chased away the remaining sleep that clouded his mind, _“For **waking** me up.”_

 

 

Mentally screaming out at the killer intent that Law is blasting at him, Ace unconsciously backed up into the wall, willing it to swallow him up so that he didn’t need to face Law’s rage.

 

 

He had the ‘lucky chance’ to witness what Law will do to those who had annoyed the hell out of him, and **really** he didn’t want to end up in pieces.

 

 

“Had a nightmare?” Sitting down at the edge of Ace’s bed, “You were tossing and turning so much that the noise woke me up. This has got to be the first time for you to be this restless here.”

 

 

Even though Law’s tone doesn’t contain the worry that is eating him up inside, Ace could tell that his room-mate; the one who had the reputation of being ‘heartless’, is indeed truly worried about him. The question had also reminded him about the dream he was having before Law woke him up.

 

 

“Oh.” Scratching the back of his head while giving Law a sheepish smile, “I wouldn’t consider _that_ as a nightmare.” Pausing slightly, Ace is wondering how he could explain the dream he was having without explaining everything to Law, “I was dreaming about the past, but it was almost like a ‘nightmare’ to me? Eh, could you understand my explanation?”

 

 

Law only nodded his head before crossing his hands in front of his chest. “Brief explanation of your dream?”

 

 

“Someone important to me being covered with blood.”

 

 

“Ah. I understand.”

 

 

Blinking at Law, Ace didn’t expect his friend to understand his meaning from such a brief explanation. “Really?”

 

 

Nodding his head, “I don’t know the reason why but I used to have dreams about Cora-san lying limp on the ground with blood covering every surface.”

 

 

Blinking in shock, Ace wasn’t really expecting his friend to confess at all, “Is that why your goal is to become a doctor?”

 

 

“Half of the reason. The main reason was because of my parents who were actually doctors, until the pandemic disease appeared.” Law paused here for a while, wondering if he should continue.

 

 

“Oh. Cora-san adopted you and gave you the treatment right?”

 

 

“Ah. That’s the only reason why I am still alive.” Law agreed.

 

 

Silenced filled the air for a while as the two of them were lost in their past, “Anyway, you woke me up Ace-ya.” The ice tone was back once again, making Ace winch, “You are going to treat me to breakfast.”

 

 

Slumping his shoulders, Ace had hoped that Law would forget about the tiny fact that his restlessness had woken the doctor in-training up. It had never been confessed but Ace had seen enough proof to know that his room-mate suffer from severe insomnia, the extra stress from Law’s course didn’t help that much in the situation.

 

 

There are days when the stress got to Law so badly that Ace had to ‘baby’ the ‘heartless doctor’ rooming with him. Even if Law did point out that his insomnia will be a great help during his attachment period and the midnight shift doctors have.

 

 

“I’ll go and get ready, you think of what you want to eat.” Ace yawned out as he pushed himself up from his bed to go to the bathroom.

 

  

 

* * *

 

 

 

Narrowing his eyes slightly, he wasn’t able to get too much information from his son who was the first witness to the scene since all of his children are now running around like headless chicken, but he had heard enough to be able to figure everything out.

 

 

This whole summer vacation is becoming a disaster.

 

 

Not only are three of his sons in critical condition but the Mansion didn’t house enough doctors to treat the three of them at once. He had called some of his friends who are doctors, however most of them are either in another country and won’t be able to rush back or they are too busy with their own work shift that they aren’t able to leave the hospital.

 

 

The only one who could make it is Jimbe, even with the additional help, one of his son is still left in the care of his daughters who are certified nurses. It might not really help the condition but he trusted his daughters to keep his son’s condition stable until either one of the two doctors are free or someone arrive in time to help them.

 

 

Still he must be becoming senile like what the Red-haired brat stated.

 

 

So senile that he didn’t realise the threat that was looming over them, the threat that was hidden among them all these time until three of his sons were fatally injured trying to protect the rest of them.

 

 

How could he atone for this weakness? Atone for his family’s destroyed peace? Atone for taking in the traitor under his wings and provided protection to the traitor, if he hadn’t done that, none of this would have happened.

 

 

Clenching his fist, now isn’t the time to feel guilty. Marco might be the pillar for this family however he _is_ the foundation that holds everything up; including the pillar, and he have to do that job right now.

 

 

No matter how hard it is for him to be holding back his rage at the _traitor_ and _his_ accomplice who are captured, chained up and being watched over by four of his strongest or let the guilt from consuming him from within.

 

 

  

* * *

 

 

 

“ ** _Ace-ya_** ” The tone that Law used had his whole body tensing up, “ ** _Pick_** up the call.” The glares are more than enough to make Ace scramble to obey Law’s orders.

 

 

Fumbling with his phone for a while, he didn’t even realise that the specific ring-tone is the one he had set for Rakuyo. “H-Hello?”

 

 

_“Ace, I’m outside the main gates of your University, pack whatever you had brought with you and meet me here as soon as possible.”_

 

 

Snapping to attention, he could recognise the tone Rakuyo is using. It’s the same tone that he used whenever he needed Sabo and Luffy to follow his instructions without asking questions.

 

 

The tone that Sabo dub as _‘calm b_ _efore shit hits the fan’_ tone.

 

 

Something must have happened for Rakuyo to use that tone, “Rakuyo? What’s going on?” As much as Ace tried to hide the seriousness in his tone, he isn’t able to hide it at all judging by how Law’s body had tensed up.

 

 

_”Ace, I don’t have the **time** to explain to you right now. Just get everything ready and meet me here. I’ll explain on the way back home.”_

 

“A-Ah, got it.” Without sparing a glance at Law who is waiting for an explanation, “Sorry Law, I would need to push back the breakfast date.”

 

 

  

* * *

 

 

 

“Are you sure that it’s okay for you to be using the siren?” Ace asked, keeping his eyes on the road leading to the expressway while the police siren blasted through the air.

 

 

“Ah, I’ve gotten the permission from Superintendent Sengoku to use it.” Rakuyo answered, “Anyway, are you going to introduce us?”

 

 

A blush made its way across Ace’s freckled cheeks, embarrassed that he had forgotten about something like that, “Rakuyo, meet Trafalgar Water D. Law, my room-mate. You can just call him Law. And Law, he is Rakuyo. One of my brothers. And if you’re wondering about why Law is here with us, I don’t know the reason.”

 

 

Glaring at Ace through the rear-view mirror, “You **_woke_** me _up_ , had to **_push_** back the breakfast which you were _supposed_ to treat, _and **looked** _ like you had **_seen_** a ghost. No way in **_hell_ that I am _not coming_ to see what is going on**.”

 

 

Swallowing thickly, Ace didn’t and couldn’t argue back at all. No when everything Law had stated is the truth.

 

 

“Wait. You’re the same ‘Law’ that Ace always talks about right?” Rakuyo asked, taking a quick glance at the young adult who had settle down in the backseat.

 

 

“Oh?” Tilting his head to the side, the evil vibe from Law continued to grow stronger, “ _What_ did he say about _me?_ ”

 

 

Deciding that now would be a good time to start praying to the Gods that he had never believed in, if there truly is a God out there, please let him survive this in one single piece. Plus the only person who might be able to get out this kind of ‘situation’ alive is out on an adventure with his friends and won’t be able to make it back in time to save him.

 

 

As if he had noticed how much trouble his little brother is in, “He just say that you’re the genius doctor he’s living in.” Rakuyo answered, hoping that this is enough to keep his little brother out of trouble.

 

 

“Hmm. Is that so?”

 

 

Okay, that sounded like Ace still isn’t out of trouble yet. “Rakuyo, you won’t be able to find another person with such a unique name anywhere else in the world.” If he isn’t going to get out of this alive and in one piece, he might as well make this whole situation worse.

 

 

“Okay, so you’re the same Law.” Pausing here for a while, “Maybe it’s a good thing you’re coming with us. We might need your help later on.”

 

 

Raising an eyebrow at that, “So… Are you going to finally explain everything now?” Ace questioned, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

 

 

Taking a quick peek at his little brother, the sight of the ‘raised eyebrow’ habit told Rakuyo that Ace have been spending too much time with Marco for his big brother’s habit to be implanted.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Oyaji” turning his head to the side, Kingdew is standing beside his throne, “Garp is here. I’ve already shown him the way to the room. Do you want me to inform them or would you like to do it himself?”

 

 

“Thank you son, it’s best that I do the explaining myself.” Whitebeard answered, pushing himself up from his throne.

 

 

“Understood Oyaji, do you want me to go with you?” Waving that offer away, there’s no need for Kingdew to provide any protection. Garp will not be taking the information well but he’s confident in his four sons who are keeping their eye on their captives, plus Garp should be able to understand.

 

 

His biggest concern isn’t Garp.

 

 

His third youngest son is his biggest concern.

 

 

Compared to Marco, he might not have that much experience dealing with the ‘darkness’ in that child, the only time he had to deal with it was when Marco wasn’t able to stop it from consuming his son.

 

 

He knew about the ‘darkness’ within his third youngest, have noticed it ever since he first laid eyes on the child who was standing at the front; protecting his two younger brothers. Knew the burdens on the oldest shoulder was too heavy to be carried alone, knew that he will do whatever it takes to pull all three children under his wing and protection.

 

 

No one ever knew about the ‘darkness’, and he kept it that way. If their third youngest wanted to keep it as a secret, he will allow it.

 

 

He had been naïve, he never thought the ‘darkness’ would have that much of an impact believing that it will go away once the child understood that he will **_NEVER_** abandon anyone of them and once Marco finally gather enough courage to confess his feelings to the brat and help dealing with it. He believed that everything will be fine with time until that _day_ when Marco came scrambling to him in panic, **begging** for help.

 

 

The sight had taken him by surprise.

 

 

How long has it been since he had last seen a panicking Marco?

 

 

Maybe more than 20 years ago, before he had gotten custody of Marco. That’s when the worst case scenario started flooding into his mind.

 

 

It’s only after he had gotten into Marco’s room did he finally know what had rattled Marco this badly, the lifeless eyes staring back had sent shivers down his spine. That’s when Marco confided in him that Marco had been helping Ace to deal with the ‘darkness’ and confess about his fears. They did it daily however _just_ this session had ended badly.

 

 

Marco didn’t know what the trigger was; even until now the both of them still have no idea what had caused it.

 

 

He would never forget that day.

 

 

Regardless of the energy and night spent on healing Ace as much as he could, the small nagging voice at the back of his head that had never been wrong before had notify him that Ace wasn’t fully healed. That’s why he’s worried that this incident will cause Ace to relapse.

 

 

“Whitebeard, what’s the reason you called the both of us here?” Garp inquire loudly, the frowning of his brow indicated that the man is annoyed. “I received a call during my shift demanding we come down to the Mansion, I thought that there was a party being held in your house but when I reached here there’s nothing! Didn’t I tell you to not call me unless there is a party?”

 

 

“Garp.” The seriousness in Sengoku’s voice had prevented Garp from demanding for an answer.

 

 

Nodding his head to thank Sengoku’s help, “Three of my sons have been attacked by an intruder and a **_traitor_**.” He spat the last word out as if he had tasted something horrible in his mouth.

 

 

Opening gaping at their old friend, it’s been years since they had been called for this kind of thing. It wasn’t uncommon for the both of them to be called here when Whitebeard started adopting ‘troubled’ children for trying to either assassination him or fraud cases the last time this happened had been more than ten years ago.

 

 

“W-Who?” Garp finally managed to move his mouth to ask this important question.

 

 

“Marshall D. Teach.” Giving Garp his full attention, “I shall inform you now, two of your grandchildren had gotten involve in it, and their condition is bad but is being treated as we speak.”

 

 

Laying one hand on his friend and colleague’s shoulder, Sengoku gave the permission, “Garp, you can go and wait. I’ll take care of the situations here. Don’t worry, I had called Kuzan to come here as soon as he could. I realise something was wrong when Rakuyo requested for my permission to use his siren.”

 

 

Garp didn’t need to be told twice, bolting down to the infirmary in the Mansion.

 

 

“Sengoku, I’ll show you to the room where the prisoners are being held.” 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Are you serious?” Law demanded since his room-mate is too busy gaping to ask the question.

 

 

“I am. I might not have been the first one to find them but Luffy managed to explain the situation to Izou; one of our brother, before he loss conscious from the major loss of blood. The fact that the dagger Teach is so fond of was still stuck in Thatch is enough proof for the rest of us that he decided to betray us.” Rakuyo answered, never taking his eyes off the road. He didn’t want to make thing worse by getting into an accident because he wasn’t paying attention to the road.

 

 

“Where is that _bastard_ being held at?” Ace hissed out, rage taking control over him.

 

 

“In one of the room. Don’t expect too much, Oyaji should have called Sengoku-san and Garp-san as soon as I had left the Mansion to pick you up.”

 

 

Slamming his fist against the dashboard in front of him, Ace let out a string of curses. Cursing the fact that he won’t be able to beat the crap out of the traitor.

 

 

“Rakuyo-ya, I remember you stating that my help will be needed when we reach the Mansion?” Law asked, having been wondering about that sentence since the start.

 

 

“We do have a doctor among us and Oyaji should have called his friend to see if they could provide any help. However since the request is last minute there’s a high chance that most of them wouldn’t be able to make it.”

 

 

Ignoring the curses, Rakuyo knew that his little brother is just letting out some steam, “Get ready to move out, we should be reaching the Mansion in another 20 minutes.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Running behind the two Whitebeard member, Law knew not to rush forward even if he could out run the both of them but since he doesn’t know the layout of the Mansion, he didn’t want to waste any precious time by being lost in this gigantic mansion. The faster he could reach his patients, the higher the chance the three of them surviving from their injuries. From what he had heard from Rakuyo, two of them are in critical condition.

 

 

There might have been more than enough nurses to help out in all kinds of situation however there just weren’t enough doctors to take care of the three patients at the same time. If Whitebeard couldn’t get any of his friends to help, two of the patients would be left in the expert care of the nurses who could only try their best to slow or stop the bleeding and preventing the patient from fading.

 

 

Banging open the doors to the medic bay, “Law the operating theatre is that way!” Rakuyo informed him while pointing at the steel doors.

 

 

He didn’t need to be told twice, rushing into the room without sparing a glance at the large amount of people who are all waiting for news about their brothers’ condition.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“H-How’s their condition?” Ace asked as soon as he catch his breath from the dash he had just made.

 

 

“We still do not know their condition yoi. But Vista and Jimbe had been working on two of them and with your friend’s help they wouldn’t be taking that much longer.” Marco answered as he pull the younger male into his embrace.

 

 

Tightening his hold, Marco had to do something to ground Ace. Before the ‘darkness’ could take his younger lover to a place where he couldn’t do anything, if that did happens it would only make situation worse than it is right now.

 

 

Not only will it cause the others to panic, Ace also didn’t want the rest of know about the ‘darkness’.

 

 

Not only will it cause the others to panic, but Ace had made him promise to not reveal or even hinted about the ‘darkness’.

 

 

Thinking that it’s a weakness to have.

 

 

Marco had been trying his best to convince Ace that no one will think that it’s a weakness to have however the stubborn, hot-headed young adult **never** listen to him. No matter how much time, breath and even fights the both of them had could convince Ace to inform everyone about it. Even now, whenever he tried to bring that topic up, it would be brushed aside or Ace would give some form of an excuse to get out of the talk.

 

 

Making eye contact with Oyaji; who have been staring at Ace in worry, there’s no need for the both of them to speak to know what each other are thinking. As Oyaji nodded his head, giving him the permission he needed, Marco quickly steer Ace out of the infirmary. Leading his younger lover to a place where the both of them could talk privately. 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Taking their eyes off their patients when they heard the door slamming open, Sora; one of the few nurses who is keeping Thatch from fading, sneer out in rage, _“We haven’t stabilize their condition yet so get the **FUCK OUT**!”_

 

“Name’s Trafalgar Water D. Law, doctor in-training. I will be able to work on the patient; without a doctor, from fading.” Law didn’t even wait for their replies, rushing towards the only bed who is surrounded by people wearing the nurse’s dress.

 

 

“ ** _Wait_** _!_ You don’t-“Sora wasn’t able to finish her sentence as someone else cut her off.

 

 

“I trust him in your hands. **_Sora_** , keep your hands **_moving_** _!_ I know and have heard about that kid. He’s a **genius**.” Vista; one of their two doctors, snapped out. Never taking his eyes off his brother’s body laid down on the table.

 

 

“V-Vista! You can’t be serious!”

 

 

“Sora-ya, you can keep on rejecting my help all you want but you’re **wasting precious time**.” Glaring at her, “If one of them **die** , I’m going to **sic** Ace-ya on you.” Ending the conversation, Law quickly glance at the familiar body lying on the bed.

 

 

Inspecting the visible wounds all over the smaller body, his brain started forming a detailed treatment plan, absent-mindedly scrubbing his hands while helping the nurses to force the scrubs on him, the frantic report dished out by one of the nurses gave him a better detail of the internal wounds.

 

 

Taking in a deep breath in and forcing out the slight panic he could feel building up from seeing his friend’s brother lying on the steel bed looking like he is minutes away from knocking on Death’s door, remembering every single medical knowledge and trainings, gripping the scalpel tightly, “Let’s start.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

It’s **_exactly_ ** like the dream he had before Law woke him up.

 

 

The dream where his two **_precious_** brother had been injured and he _couldn’t_ help them at all. This whole situation just reminds him of how **_pathetically weak_** he was, actually he haven’t change at all, he is still **_WEAK_**.

 

 

So weak that his brain had shut down on him, unable to think of what he could actually do to help his brothers.

 

 

Clenching his fist, he want to beat up the **_traitor_** up so badly right now.

 

 

The _traitor_ who is nothing but a **_pathetic coward_** , instead of issuing a challenge had chosen to attack them in the middle of the night, who even had an _accomplice_  waiting by the side to **_save_** him shall anything went wrong.

 

 

This whole thing is literally screwing his brain right now, he couldn’t think of anything but the ‘what ifs’. What if he didn’t attend the last minute extra class? What if he had just took a taxi back after the class had ended? What if he had actually called either one of his brother to do a ‘routine check-up’ on them?

 

 

He will be able to help his brothers in the ambush. He will be able to stumble across the fight scene and jumped in. He will be able to the noise level and notify someone in the Mansion about what he will be able to hear.

 

 

There was just so much things he could have done yet he didn’t.

 

 

And what had he been doing at that time?

 

 

Ranting to Law.

 

 

**_RANTING_ ** _. **To. Law.**_

 

**_MOTHER FUCKING RANTING TO LAW WHILE HIS PRECIOUS BROTHERS’ LIFE ARE HANGING ON A THREAD._ **

 

 

Fucking God. How could he be so stupid?!

 

 

How could he be so _**stupid**_?!

 

 

A warm hand wrapping around his took him away from his internal berate, turning his head to fully take in his boyfriend’s face.

 

 

Plastered with the same passive, calm and slightly bored expression, Marco’s calm state somehow manage to calm him down slightly. Realising that he isn’t the only one here, realising that he have other family members who are also livid at this whole situation, realising that there are others out there who are screaming for the **_coward’s_** blood right now.

 

 

“Don’t worry too much yoi. Vista, Jimbe and your friend will be able to take care of the three of them.” Marco reassured him.

 

 

Snorting at those words, like hell he doesn’t trust the doctors, he had personally met Jimbe before Oyaji showed up. When Jimbe had popped out of none where, offering free medical check-up for all of them (especially Sabo because of the wounds he had sustained from the burning house), he had refused those check-ups as soon as Jimbe offered to them. And when Jimbe kept on showing his face, repeating the same thing over and over again, he had done just about anything and everything he could think of to offend him.

 

 

He finally gave up when Oyaji had decided to meet the _‘brat who have been giving his friend such a hard time’_ , with just a single hit from Oyaji was all it took to take him down. Marco and Thatch held down his brothers, bringing all three of them back to the Main Mansion, Oyaji declaring them as his sons. Being the ‘protector’ of this pack, he didn’t back down that easily. It took another hundred days before he finally saw some sense.

 

 

The rest was history.

 

 

So, no. He trust their three doctors. How could he when Vista and Jimbe are one of them; family members, they wouldn’t do anything to harm his brothers, as for Law…

 

 

That’s a bit hard to say, if Law is taking care of either Sabo or Luffy, nothing will happen. Because he had been observing Law’s interaction with his two brothers, and dare he say Law actually did have a _soft spot_ for his two brothers for some reason he still couldn’t really pin-point.

 

 

Could it be due to Sabo’s intelligent and also the easiest person for Law to talk to –God knows that Luffy is the hardest to have a conversation with due to his short attention span-?

 

 

Luffy because his idiotic yet adorable antics that somehow managed to _soften_ Law’s ‘harden heart’ –Law kind of resent that due to his ‘heartless’ reputation being destroyed by the one and only Luffy, a fit even Cora-san couldn’t finish-?

 

 

As for Thatch, there should be much of a problem unless the person himself wasn’t sedated and is non-stop teasing his friend. **_That_** is something everyone should be worried about.

 

 

Of course that doesn’t include the _sadistic_ side of Law that is actually a trouble-maker making an appearance, and decided to mess with one of Whitebeard’s son. Oyaji will give him **_A LOT_** of trouble, so much that Cora-san won’t be able to save him. One thing’s for certain, Law is _smart_ –he won’t say it to _anyone’s_ face (unless he wanted to be beaten) but Law is smarter than Sabo- so Law wouldn’t do anything bad.

 

 

Noticing the creases on Marco’s forehead, Ace half waved his hands, “I wasn’t worried about their condition, I’m…” trailing off slightly, “I’m just pissed off that I wasn’t able to do anything.”

 

 

“You’re not the only one yoi. Everyone is _pissed off_ , especially Oyaji if you’re wondering about it.” Marco confessed, a crooked smile on his face, “There’s a high chance that Oyaji will ask Sengoku if we could each get a punch in.”

 

 

“I do _hope_ that Oyaji will request that. I will make sure to **punch** the **_fuck_** out of that _coward_ until he couldn’t even remember his own name.” Ace snarled out, deciding to glare at something else other than Marco.

 

 

As the both of them quiet down, the rage decided to take control over Ace for now. Brain working full time on methods on how to improve the strength behind the punch which he _will_ be giving to the _traitor_. Being pulled into a warm embrace, it took a while for Ace to realise what is happening.

 

 

“I’m sorry yoi.”

 

 

Blinking rapidly at the apology he received, Ace couldn’t think of anything that warrants an apology from the only person aside from Oyaji who **_never_** make a single mistake. As if sensing his confusion, Marco turn his head to face him fully.

 

 

“I’m sorry for what happened to Sabo and Luffy.” He continued, averting his eye away from making any contact with him, “The fight was a few feet away from my room yet I didn’t do anything.”

 

 

Gasping out in surprise at this piece of news, Rakuyo didn’t inform him about this small piece of information.

 

 

“From the damage found in the hallway, Sabo or Luffy were trying their best to get someone’s attention, my best guess is that they were trying to get mine yoi.”

 

 

“W-What?” is the only answer Ace could come up with, this small piece of information had malfunctioned his brain.

 

 

“To make sure that the both of us could spend the day together, Oyaji and Izou had teamed up against me and forced me  to hand over all of my paperwork. To deceive them, I had hidden as much paperwork as I could, waited till they believe that I was sleeping before working on them.” Taking in a shaky breathe in, “I was so focused on the paperwork that I didn’t notice the increase of noise level yoi.”

 

 

As Marco slowly drowned down in guilt, his facial calmness slowly crumble down to nothing, Ace couldn’t help but stare at everything in shock.

 

 

The way how the edges of Marco’s lips pulled down slightly before his eyebrow wobble in place as if it is struggling against Marco’s control

 

 

The way how the edges of Marco’s lips pulled down slightly before his eyebrow started wobbling in place as if it is struggling against Marco’s control of keeping his calm emotional state -maybe for his sake- the last straw is when Ace noticed the tears welling up slightly in the eyes that he loved so much along with the short and sharp gasp of air broke Ace’s brain.

 

 

HOW. THE. FUCK. COULD. _HE_. COMFORT. SOMEONE?!

 

 

With the fact that he had _always_ been the _one_ who needs comfort and Marco being the one who usually comfort him?

 

 

“I was so **_focused_** on the completion of the paperwork that I didn’t **_hear_** the noises.” Voice quivering, thick with emotion, “How _could_ I do something like _that_ yoi? How could I have fucking failed to keep everyone safe?!”

 

 

As Marco continued on berating himself, at long last Ace could _understand_ what his two brothers and Marco had to go through, had to witness whenever they had to comfort him.

 

 

Alongside with Marco, his heart cried out to him. Urging him to _do something_. _Just do anything_. Never the kind to ignore his instincts, Ace darted forward, grabbed hold on Marco’s shoulders and started shaking him slightly, hoping that this will be able to snap him out of whatever trance he is in.

 

 

“I’ve failed you Ace. Broke the promise that I’ve made with you, to make sure that nothing will happen to Sabo and Luffy while they are within Oyaji’s territory yoi.” This was so softly whispered out that it was nearly covered by the gash of wind.

 

 

“ **Marco!** _Marco!_ ” Ace snapped out, “Listen to me! There’s no way where you could hear the noises from the fight!”

 

 

“W-What? What do you mean yoi?”

 

 

Wrapping Marco up in his embrace, “I said, there’s no way you could near any noises from your room. Oyaji had made sure to give you a room that had been soundproofed so that the noise generated will not disturb you!” pausing for a while to let this information sink in, “Do you get it now? It’s not because you’re so focused on the paperwork that you didn’t hear the noises, it’s because of the room had been soundproofed.”

 

 

Looking into Marco’s eyes, “Remember this Marco, you didn’t fail anyone of us at all. You didn’t break any promise with me, how could you break the promise when you don’t even know that my brothers were back in the house?” Giving a weak smile, hoping, praying that this is more than enough to comfort Marco.

 

 

Ace have no idea whether this will work.

 

 

“But-“

 

 

“No ‘buts’ Marco. None of this is your fault.” Pausing for a while, “None of this is my fault too. The _coward_ is the one at fault.”

 

 

The arms tightening their hold on Ace’s waist had him mentally sighing out in relief. He **_should_** really learn how to comfort someone from Sabo or maybe Oyaji someday in the future, just in case situations like this turn up.

 

 

Ace knew that his attempt at comforting worked when Marco had tighten his arms that is wrapped around his waist. Muzzling into Marco’s hair, Ace never wanted to witness or even experience anything like this anymore.

 

 

The both of them just stay in that position for a while longer, seeking comfort from one another until their worry over their brothers took over them once again.

 

 

“I think we should go back yoi. Oyaji should be worried about us.” Marco whispered out as he pushed away from Ace’s embrace.

 

 

“Okay.” 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Turning his attention to his two son who had just walked back into the infirmary, Whitebeard couldn’t see the tension that weight down on Marco’s shoulders anymore and that Ace seem calmer than when he first came in.

 

 

It’s a huge relief for Whitebeard.

 

 

If Ace let his rage control over him, there’s a high chance where he will be doing dangerous things. That’s something which he couldn’t allow, especially when the tension continue raising among all of his children.

 

 

There’s no additional need to worry the rest.

 

 

Now all they need to do is to wait for the doctors’ verdict. 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Taking in a deep breath, he couldn’t hold this off anymore. Not when all of the mother-hens –no matter how much they deny it- have parked their asses behind those steel doors, there’s no need to make them wait any longer.

 

 

“Shall we?” Jimbe asked him with Law standing behind the both of them, shooting questioning look at him.

 

 

Poor guy. He doesn’t know what he is getting himself into when he offered his help to them. Well, there’s no need to explain to the guy –he won’t believe them anyway- it’s best to just let him witness it with his own eyes.

 

 

As soon as he throw the steel door open, all of his brothers had flung themselves at him. Bombing him with questions one after another, never giving him the time to answer anything. Managing to pick up on the startled look on Law’s face, Vista couldn’t help but snigger at the priceless look, sadly everyone else are more interested in the welfare of their brothers than anything else.

 

 

The gurgling laughter from their Oyaji put a stop to the machine-gun questions, “Come on children, they won’t be able to answer any question if all of you don’t give them time to answer.”

 

 

The sheepish smile on everyone’s face is more than enough to send Whitebeard laughing once again.

 

 

Huffing out, “So? How’s the condition of my grandchildren?”

 

 

“Do not worry, we have stabilize their condition. All they needed right now is to rest and it’s best that they stay in the infirmary for it.”

 

 

Continuous sighs of relief echoed through-out the whole room, people slumping over where they are standing, falling asleep from their exhaustion as soon they processed the information.

 

 

Looking around the whole room, “Well, it’s best to just leave all of them here, it’s too troublesome to wake them up just to march them to their room yoi.” Turning his attention to Vista, “I’m worried about Luffy, there’s no way the brat will want to stay in bed.”

 

 

“Don’t worry, if Luffy-ya is giving you troubles, call for me.” The evil smirk appeared on Law’s face once again, making those who are near him to take a few steps back.

 

 

“Ace, you’re sure that your friend could be trusted?” Haruta hissed into his ears.

 

 

Laughing weakly at Haruta, “…I believe so..?”

 

 

_That_ isn't the reaction Haruta is looking for, “I’m going to give the nurses a heads up. Making sure that they will inform Luffy about not doing anything stupid.” He whispered out before dashing into the operating theatre.

 

 

“Son, can we visit them now?”

 

 

“It’s best to visit in a few days.” Jimbe answered.

 

 

The groans from those who are still awake made Jimbe smile, “If that’s all, I’ll be taking my leave. I have a shift in a few more hours.” Jimbe informed Whitebeard, nodding his head as he headed for the door.

 

 

“Thank you for your help Jimbe.”

 

 

“It’s nothing much Oyaji, if you need any help please call me again.” Jimbe answered.

 

  

 

* * *

 

 

 

It took nearly a week before anyone could head in to visit their three patients, that didn’t mean that no one heard the deeds which the three trouble-makers have done just to get away from the ‘prison of hell’ as they called the infirmary during their meal time.

 

 

The workload shouldered by the nurses and Vista nearly increased because the stories nearly killed everyone by making them chock on either their food or drink; whichever they others were trying to put into their mouth at that point of time, it became so troublesome that Whitebeard had ordered those stories to be shared only after everyone had done with their food and drinks.

 

 

The first one to bulldoze through the door is actually Ace with Izou and Haruta following behind him, the unlucky nurses who were standing behind the door at that time had nearly been killed with how hard Ace had slammed the door open –well it will be a good story to share later during meal time-.

 

 

“ ** _YOU IDIOTS!!!_** ” Ace roared as soon as he could see all three occupied bed.

 

 

“ _HHHIIIIEEEEE”_ Sabo and Luffy squeaked out, clinging onto one another tightly, trembling as they look at Ace stomping to their beds.

 

 

Thatch whose bed is on the other side of the room; facing the two brothers, couldn’t help but flinch slightly even when he know that Ace is directing his anger at the other two.

 

 

“Ace, you should calm down. Remember that we are still injured?”

 

 

“Ya! Sabo’s right!”

 

 

_“Like hell I can when you guys have made me worry my ass off for the both of you!”_

 

 

Winching at the punches, “Well, Ace certainly look well.”

 

 

A soft snort, “Really? That’s the best comment you could give?” Izou asked while fixing Thatch with a ‘you’re-an-idiot’ look.

 

 

“ _Hey!_ You didn’t see the expression on his face when Ace stomped in! That’s the one expression which he didn’t show before and really I don’t want to see it again!” Thatch squeaked back.

 

 

“How are you feeling yoi?” Marco asked breaking into the conversation, he didn’t want to listen to the playful banter between Izou and Thatch.

 

 

“Well better than when I first woke up after the operation. So what really happen? No one gave me the full detail of what happened that night.” Thatch quickly asked, wanting to find out just what had happen to land not only him but the two other brats into the infirmary, with injuries serious enough that his sisters were all visibly relief when he woke up and could actually wiggle his toes.

 

 

The eye contact made by both Marco and Izou didn’t escape his notice at all, wondering if he will be able to get the full story out of the both of them now or will he need to annoy them until he could get it, he better start making some plans now.

 

 

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

 

 

“I was just getting out of my bedroom to use the toilet, just as I am about to close the door I felt pain from my lower back.” Pausing here for a while, Thatch tried to remember anything else after that, “I believe another blow was landed on the back of my head, that caused me to black out on the spot right?” he asked, wanting to see if his memory is correct.

 

 

“That’s correct yoi.” Marco answered, turning his attention to Ace who is being lectured by one of the nurses who have heard the noise. “Sabo and Luffy witness the attack and jumped in.”

 

 

“So… Who is the idiot that dared to find trouble with Oyaji?” The goofy smile appearing on Thatch’s face, wanting to find out more juicy information. The smile dropped when Izou and Marco didn’t answer him straight away, somehow managing to link the reason why none of the nurses or Vista didn’t want to share the information with him, “It’s one of _us_?”

 

 

Sighing out as one of his hand went to pinch the bridge of his nose, “Its Marshall D. Teach yoi.” Marco had forgotten that behind all of those silly antics and smiles lies a brilliant mind.

 

 

It took a few minutes for that information to sink down, “So… That **_bastard_ ** dare to **_betray_** us?” Thatch got his answer when no one answered him, “So? Where’s that **_bastard_** right now? Sabo and Luffy got him good right?”

 

 

“Well Sabo got that **_coward_** well, Luffy was busy with someone else yoi.”

 

 

Straightening up as much as he could without aggravating his injuries, “He called for a **look-out**?”

 

 

Nodding his head, “Name‘s Laffitte from what I heard from the call from Sengoku. A fugitive who used to belong in the underworld but did something large enough to be wanted by the police, mafia and triads yoi.” Taking a quick glance at Thatch’s reaction, “Luffy had to break away from the fight with Teach, apparently the two **_bastards_** had been prepared for any interruptions and had brought their weapons along. And that’s why the both of them are in here with you yoi.”

 

 

The livid expression that crossed Thatch’s face is something that nearly 90% of their family would never get to see, it’s hard to anger the always-goofy Thatch, one good way might be damaging something in his kitchen however no one is actually **_stupid_** enough to do something like that.

 

 

“So Sengoku have the two **_fucktards_**?” Thatch hissed out.

 

 

“That’s right yoi. Sengoku have also rejected Oyaji’s request of all of us getting a hit in.”

 

 

That seem to shock Thatch out of his rage, “Well I can understand Sengoku’s decision. That two **fucktards** won’t live if every one of us get a chance to hit them.” Thatch pouted before snorted out softly at the image his brain had created for him. “Were their injuries severe?”

 

 

“Luffy was lucky yoi, Laffitte was trained in sword fighting, He mainly got some cuts and a pretty bad stab wound. But for Sabo’s case, the **_traitor_** had a lot more weapons concealed around his body, he’s easily the severely wounded one among you three with you being the second due to the major loss of blood from the stab wound you received.”

 

 

“Well if this goofball was actually aware of his surroundings he would have gotten out of it with nothing more than a light scratches.” Izou huffed out.

 

 

Glaring at Izou, this is the way Marco usually warn someone when they had somehow crossed the line but with Izou glaring right back, it seems Izou is itching for a fight.

 

 

“I know, I know. The amount of booze I had didn’t help my case at all. But I do have one very important question.” Tilting his head to the side slightly, “Why are the both of them back home when they were supposed to be ‘busy’?”

 

 

Rolling their eyes at him, “They didn’t like the fact that they couldn’t come back for all of the plans we made so Sabo had decided to skip some of his extra lessons and bribed one of his classmate; Koala, to take notes for him. And he managed to contact Luffy, set a date and sneak back into the Mansion together to surprise all of us during breakfast.”

 

 

Winching slightly, “Oh crap, that means Sabo missed out quite a bit of his extra-classes huh?”

 

 

“Don’t worry yoi, Oyaji contacted the school to inform Sabo’s program leader about what happened. The lecturers should have informed the rest of the class about what happened. And if they didn’t, Koala had contacted us and we told her what happened, she will do the rest.” Marco shrugged, not even bothered that someone unknown somehow got their hands on the Mansion’s number. “Well, I need to go over there to save the three idiots from the lectures yoi.” Clasping one of his hand on Thatch’s shoulder and squeeze slightly before leaving, there isn’t a need for Marco to say a single word.

 

 

Just a single action told Thatch everything that he needed to know that Marco is happy that he is recovering well from that attack. Watching the back-view of his brother and best friend as he went over to the other side to try and convince the nurses to hand over their lectures to him, Thatch couldn’t help the smile from appearing on his face.

 

Glad that their two youngest brothers had been there to save him. If not he wouldn’t be able to see everyone’s smile.

 

 

“I hate to be the one to inform you about this,” Izou started, “but you had missed out on Luffy’s friends crushing through the front door, screaming for Luffy and one of them I believe the name is Zoro challenging Oyaji to a battle.”

 

 

Spluttering out, the expression on Thatch’s face send Izou into a laughing fit.

 

 

**_“I MISSED THAT?! NNNNOOOOOOOO!”_ **

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was this chapter good?
> 
> Somehow the portion where Marco is blaming him didn't sit well for me. I had to confess that I had another version written out (this posted one is the second version) both time I am stuck there. Something about that portion just doesn't satisfy me. And I am really sorry about the shitty ending, I just couldn't think of a good way to end this chapter.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading!!!!


	8. Barbeque

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long (like always) I had a hard time with the starting and the ending of this chapter. The 2 days 1 night vacation my family took made my procrastination even longer. XD
> 
> But here is the end of this series. I hope this chapter is a good way to end this off.
> 
> Warnings: I didn't read through this whole chapter and haven't edited it, so please pardon the mistakes which I have made here and my atrocious grammar.

 

 

 

Marco should be alarmed by the scene in front of him, normally he would have joined in, standing in the middle, directing people on the task that needed to be done but he couldn’t bring himself to step in. Not when everyone had rejected his offer to help in the preparations, they claim that he had been overworked; doing both the paperwork and worrying about something, and demanded him to take this day off and let the rest of them do the worrying and work.

 

 

But Marco knew all of his siblings well enough that he **_should_** be worried when they tell him not to. True to his words, he could see some of them either running around in circles or back and forth from the kitchen to the backyard like headless chicken, he could even hear some of them screaming their heads off.

 

 

It seems like even with Izou, Rakuyo, Jozu and Fossa helping in the preparations couldn’t seem to keep things smooth enough, with Thatch being restricted to just chopping of the ingredients seems to make things worse.

 

 

At least Oyaji; who is sitting on the armchair labelled as his, is having a good time watching the ‘show’ in front of him.

 

 

The grim atmosphere was what Marco had been worried about for the past few days. Most of his siblings have never experienced any betrayal; no one had been stupid or brave enough to find trouble with them for ten years, so most of them do not know how to handle the information. Worried that the seeds of Doubt would be planted in their mind because of this incident.

 

 

When Oyaji had released the finer details about Teach’s plan; how the **_traitor_** had been planning to betray them since the first day, didn’t help the situation.

 

 

He could understand their fears and the pain his siblings have to go through, but the behaviour exhibited from everyone for the next few days had gotten on his nerves. Their guards raised, every small movement made by anyone was jolted down mentally and holding themselves back while interacting with one another.

 

 

Marco might be observant but he knows there is only one person in the world who could noticed those small changes way earlier than he could.

 

 

Oyaji.

 

 

Oyaji would know what impact his announce would have on the others and since Oyaji built this family with trust and respect, he didn’t want to hide any secrets away from everyone. While Marco is displeased with those idiots but the pain that he felt from those actions are nothing compared to the pain that Oyaji felt.

 

 

At that moment he couldn’t help but wonder if this is within Teach’s plan on destroying them.

 

 

But he understood. Understood that most of them do not know how or what they should do to get over the betrayal, he had set out to correct everyone’s behaviour. Even when the rest of the Commanders was helping him to handle their own division but there is just too many siblings for all of them to handle even Oyaji had a hard time taking care of the others.

 

 

The saving grace was the idea Vista had come up with, the idea of sharing the mishap their two troublemakers get into while trying to escape the place they deemed as ‘prison’. It didn’t mean those stories didn’t bring more trouble to the medical staffs, Marco swears that all of his sisters have lost count of how many times people actually chocked on either the food or the drinks; whichever one is closer to his siblings’ mouth, until Oyaji had demand for those stories to be shared after the meals were done and that no one can have any beverage at those time.

 

 

Those stories have helped to lighten up the mood but it isn’t strong enough to chase the grim atmosphere away, when Ace noticed it, he had pulled Law in to help with the idea Ace had come up with but it didn’t help that much. It was only until their two troublemakers and their Prank Master casted their magic did everything lighten up.

 

 

Their youngest brat screaming for meat; his sisters didn’t allow him to have his fill of meat when he had been locked up in the infirmary, and Thatch’s suggestion of holding a last-minute barbeque party had led to this mad scrambling and screaming match.

 

 

Pinching the bridge of his nose, it’s good that everyone managed to get over the pain and fear of betrayal, still the noise level is giving him a headache. Thank God he had the mind-set to call the owners about the supplies which they will need and have them deliver the goods today.

 

 

God knows the rest would never think about ordering the goods first.

 

 

“You sure that I shouldn’t jump in to help this mess yoi?” Marco questioned softly, never taking his eyes off the headless chickens in front of him.

 

 

“You know that they would force you back here if you tried to step in.” Oyaji answered.

 

 

“They can try yoi, but this mess will only delay things. We both know nothing will be ready when the guest arrives.”

 

 

“I can’t stop you if you wanted to do it.” 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Clicking his tongue, the noise took Thatch’s attention away from the meat which he is carving, “What’s wrong?” he asked, keeping his attention on the cross-dresser who have been keeping his eyes on him.

 

 

Izou didn’t verbally answer him, just jerking his chin in the direction.

 

 

The direction where Marco is leaning against the door leading to the backyard, shouting and directing orders to their other siblings to work on the things which had been missed by all of them. Thatch could understand Izou’s anger at this scene, after Izou’s ranting about Marco’s mother-hen tendency.

 

 

Rolling his eyes, “Izou, we both know that no one could stop Marco from anything. Not even Oyaji could do anything about it once Marco stepped up to it.” When Izou opened his mouth to continue arguing with him, “Izou, think about it. At least Marco is just directing orders at them and not doing manual work, his actions is still considered as resting.”

 

 

Raising both of his hands up and heading off to another location, Izou know that he wouldn’t win this argument.

 

 

“You did a good job at stopping the argument.” Vista whispered out, keeping his voice low enough to prevent Izou from hearing his conversation.

 

 

“I could tell that everyone’s stressed off about what happened to me, even if Izou didn’t tried to talk my ear off while I was trapped in the infirmary.” Added as if like an afterthought, “With all of us behind schedule, Marco would rather kill himself than to see all of us struggle to try and make things work **_and_** having Izou rant his ears off.”

 

 

That got Vista laughing.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

  

The chattering, the music flowing from the radio from some random station and the laughter floating through the air soothed out the remaining tension from his body.

 

 

Okay, maybe Marco had lied about the tension. How could he relax when Sengoku, Garp, Shanks is here in the party, it’s only a matter of time before one of those ‘adults’ start a drinking competition and Oyaji will drink more than the alcohol limit set for him.

 

 

Which will end up with all of his sisters nagging at Oyaji –something that Oyaji had gotten used to- and when Oyaji ignored their naggings, they will turn to him for help.

 

 

Where nothing he do or say will make Oyaji listen to him a fact where **_NO ONE_** seem to remember no matter how many times he keeps on telling them.

 

 

“Okay. I have enough of your fidgeting. Relax will you?” Curiel demanded as the man stomped next to him.

 

 

“What do you mean yoi? I **_am_ ** relaxing!”

 

 

The look Curiel shot him told Marco that his brother didn’t really believe his ‘lie’.  The hand that Curiel raised didn’t make much sense to him either.

 

 

“I can’t believe what got into me when you raised this bet with me, but this seriously sucks.” Haruta muttered out as he slammed some bills into Curiel’s raised hands.

 

 

“You **BET** on me yoi?”

 

 

“Don’t blame us when you’re the one who isn’t **resting**.” Haruta stressed out while glaring at his older brother.

 

 

Rolling his eyes, “I don’t get why none of you believe that I am actually resting right now yoi. I am not doing any work, I am not walking around to make sure that everyone is settled down, I am not even nagging at anyone to behave themselves yoi!”

 

 

“That didn’t mean that you’re not worrying about everyone mentally. Hell, half of us could even hear your _thoughts_! About all those things which we weren’t really doing right!” Marco opened his mouth to argue his case but Haruta hold up a hand to stop him from talking, “Don’t try arguing with us when you know damn well that you’re doing that.”

 

 

The glares Haruta and Curiel shot at him is enough for him to give up on this argument, Marco didn’t even want to waste his energy trying to change everyone’s mind, there’s no way anyone would even believe his words.

 

 

“Come on Marco, just look at the barbeque pit!” Haruta urged him.

 

 

There, behind the barbeque pit stood Ace, managing the meat, vegetables and even the fire like he was born to do that. That managed to bring a smile on Marco’s face, while their three youngest brother never hide the fact that they could out-eat almost everyone else except Oyaji and that no food within their reach are safe.

 

 

But during their first barbeque party –after the three brats had **_finally_** joined them- the moment Ace saw the barbeque pit, he had started begging Thatch to allow him to take care of the pit. It had taken four hours before Thatch and the other cooks finally gave up and let Ace take care of the pit and the food just to stop Ace from annoying them.

 

 

Of course Thatch had kept a close eye on Ace, border-line hovering over his shoulder –to make sure that Ace won’t be sneaking a bite of the food when it’s not up to Thatch’s standard but to also make sure that Ace won’t burn the food- Thatch had been too busy making sure that the food is cooked to his standard and making sure that it didn’t burn, had missed the utter look of concentration on Ace’s face.

 

 

When the food is finally served; with Ace’s special blend of spices, everyone was amazed. The different cuts of meat, the vegetables and even the different seafood were all cooked to perfection, the spices brought out the sweetness of everything. Even Thatch had been amazed by Ace’s cooking after he had taken a bite (after everyone’s demanding him to eat).

 

 

Sabo had been the one to provide the answer to their questions, stating that Ace always had a way with cooking food over a fire perhaps with Ace being the one responsible for cooking their food had been the main reason for his ‘thing’ with cooking things over fire.

 

 

Thatch had been gravely insulted by everyone when they praised the food –going even as far as to say that the food prepared by Ace is **WAY** better than the barbeque food prepared by Thatch- even demanding Oyaji to put Ace in-charge of barbequing their food for their future barbeque parties. But since everyone insisted on Ace being their barbeque chief, Oyaji didn’t have a choice but to appoint Ace to that position even if Thatch had been nagging non-stop and being cold to Ace for ages until Marco pulled a stop to it –by kicking Thatch from one side of the Mansion to the other side-.

 

 

“This image still shock me.” Curiel prompted, never taking his eyes off Ace.

 

 

“I understand.” Haruta chirped, “I heard the others saying that they are shock about this image. Hell I just overheard Garp saying he couldn’t believe Ace is actually **_cooking_** **_and not even eating_** the **food**.”

 

 

Snorting, “I still couldn’t believe that he is able to hold himself back from inhaling the food in front of him. The fact that he is able to keep both Luffy away from the food before being served is what truly amaze me.” Marco quickly grabbed a fresh bottle of beer from the table near him.

 

 

“I guess that you had totally missed the last time when Luffy had been an idiot and tried to swipe some of the cooked food before Ace announced that those were ready to serve.” The raised eyebrow Curiel received is enough to urge him to continue with the ‘story’, “Ace had used the thongs he is holding in his hand to smack Luffy at the back of his head, if Sabo’s reaction hadn’t been fast enough Luffy would have suffered from some very serious burns on his face. The best thing? During the ‘lecture’ Sabo gave to Ace, we found out that that was how Ace punish Luffy when they had been younger.” Snickering for a while, “I wish you had been there to see it, the sight had been hilarious. Ace, nursing a huge bump on his head with Sabo being the one whom had created the bump, with a clenched fist raised and threatening to create a concussion while demanding Ace to promise to never try that again while Luffy is stuffing his face full with whatever food he could get his hands on.”

 

 

Those who were within hearing range were either laughing or chocking on the beer which they had just drank, “Damn it Curiel! I was drinking my beer!” one of them spluttered out as soon as he cleared his airway. Sending the rest of them laughing their asses off.

 

 

“If you think our reactions to Ace and cooking were both bad and hilarious, take a look at Law.” Curiel snickered out, pointing at the direction of where the doctor in-training stood shell-shock.

 

 

The wide eyed look Law is sporting send everyone into roaring laughter once again.

 

 

“If you’re really worried about Oyaji, I had Benn kept an eye on Shanks to make sure that the party-animal didn’t try baiting Oyaji into a drinking contest, and sic Izou on Oyaji.” Haruta whispered out, sneaking glances at his older brother, “I don’t think Oyaji can enjoy his drinks while Izou is ranting into his ear non-stop. Sengoku should be able to understand what is going on and will stop Garp from doing anything stupid.”

 

 

“Oh thank God for that yoi.” 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“Hey! Sorry for waiting, I’ve finally finished up everything.” Squeezing in-between his two other brother, Ace wanted to spend this time with the both of them.

 

 

“Took you long enough. I barely managed to stop Luffy from eating the food that we’ve saved up for you.” Sabo grin while pointing at the pile of meat, vegetables and seafood that are piled on top of one another with no order or what so ever.

 

 

“Thank you?” Blinking at the plate full of food, he couldn’t help but think that it was piled together like trash.

 

 

“Shishishi, I grabbed everything within my sight. If you can’t finish it, I can eat the rest for you!”

 

 

Rolling his eyes, “You idiot. There’s no way where I couldn’t finish everything by myself.” With the large grin on his baby brother’s face, Ace couldn’t resist himself from patting Luffy on his head.

 

 

As Ace started on his food, the silence that fills the air is only broken once Luffy started whistling a song which he had either heard from somewhere or learn it from someone or just whistling a tune which he had made up.

 

 

The other two didn’t really need to do anything, he know that they have something which they wanted to say to him. The only problem is that they either couldn’t bring the topic up or they do not know how to start the conversation, and he know what they are going to say to him.

 

 

So instead of trying to start a conversation with the both of them, he just stay silent, letting them take all the time they need to start the conversation.

 

 

“I’m sorry!” twin response from the two sitting on each side. Well, that didn’t take long at all.

 

 

Chew. Swallow. “About?” Stuff another mouthful of meat into his mouth.

 

 

Sabo frowned at him, “Oh come on, and there is only one thing which the both of us had done that would pissed you off.” Raising one eyebrow, “And we know that you’re still angry at us.”

 

 

As much as Ace tried to hide the fact that, yes, he is still irritated at his two brothers, he just couldn’t help the corner of his lips from tilting downwards.

 

 

“And there is the sign that you’re still angry at us.” Sabo pointed out, never taking his eyes off him.

 

 

“Of course I am angry! I can understand Luffy will rush in without thinking, but I don’t understand why **you** do it.” Ace hissed out as he glared at Sabo, “You are the ‘brains’ between the three of us! You are always the one who think of a plan first before jumping into situations head on unlike Luffy and me! So **_why_**?”

 

 

Slumping down slightly, “I knew you’re pissed about that.” Sabo muttered out to himself before raising his voice to answer, “It’s either I jump in without a plan or Thatch would have died.” Getting Ace’s attention, he hold up a hand to stop Ace from firing questions after questions, “The **_traitor_** was holding his dagger against Thatch’s throat, if I don’t jump in after Luffy to distract the **traitor** , there’s a high chance where Thatch’s throat would have been cut before Luffy could do anything.”

 

 

“Doesn’t help that the back-up jumped out as soon as I manage to land a hit on Teach.” Luffy pouted, “I couldn’t even help Sabo with that **bastard**.”

 

 

“The both of you should have gotten someone’s attention so that they could have helped you.” Ace answered, turning to stare at Luffy in displease.

 

 

“Don’t blame everything on Luffy!” Sabo hissed out, glaring at his older brother, “It’s not like it’s his fault that this whole thing had happened, plus even if Luffy did try and get the accomplice away from where Thatch’s body is and tried to get someone’s attention, there’s a high chance where they wouldn’t be fooled by this trick and would just aimed for both Thatch and me.”

 

 

Combing his fingers through his hair, “I still wished the both of you had gotten someone’s attention or even notify someone about coming back home.” Ace sighed out, slumping in defeat.

 

 

“We know, and we’re sorry for making you this worried. We weren’t expecting something like that to happen.” Sabo answered, “And can I believe that you will be suffering from nightmares for a while?”

 

 

Ace didn’t want to answer that question, he didn’t want to worry his two sworn brothers or even his other older brothers just because his brain is being stupid by haunting his sleep with images of people who he treasure laying in a pool of blood.

 

 

He had a history with those nightmares; after the BlueJam incident, Garp and his two brothers know about it –he had woken all three of them up with his moaning and muffled screams- but he did get over it. BY becoming stronger and being there whenever his brothers are in a fight, always there to be their back-up or give them a helping hand if they couldn’t handle it. Ace did tried to hide that he is suffering from nightmares, but his methods didn’t seem to work that well.

 

 

He had noticed the looks from most of the Commanders and Oyaji had been shooting at him, maybe he shouldn’t have spent the last few weeks sleeping in the room assigned to him,

 

 

He have noticed the looks the other Commanders and Oyaji had been shooting at him, maybe spending the last few weeks sleeping in the room assigned to him when he had always slept in Marco’s room doesn’t help in hiding the fact from everyone.

 

 

“You know you don’t have to hide this from us, we just want to help you.”

 

 

“I know. But I don’t want to worry both of you.” Ace answered Sabo, knowing his two brothers care about him, when he notice the frown on Sabo’s face, “Really, you don’t have to worry about it. Others have found out about it, they should be doing something soon.”

 

 

A sly smile appeared on Sabo’s face, “Luffy, looks like there’s no need for the both of us to do anything. Marco will do something about it.” Even Luffy; who isn’t interested in those _kinds_ of things, is shooting sly smile at him.

 

 

Gaping at the two while a blush started spreading across his face, “Y-Yo-YOU!”

 

 

Roaring laughter from the two brats as they danced away from Ace’s flailing arms.

 

 

  

* * *

 

 

 

  

“That sounded good.” Izou whispered out as his eyes never leave the three youngest brat in their family, absent-mindedly sipping the wine Vista had passed him.

 

 

“I have been waiting for this yoi.” Marco confessed, a smile appearing on his face, “My brat needed to have a talk with the other two brats.”

 

 

Gaping slightly at his older brother, this has to be the first time where Izou have heard Marco calling Ace as ‘his brat’, “Are you **_drunk_**?”

 

 

“No.” Smirking at Izou, it’s rare to throw Izou off and finally the worry inside of him have finally stop nagging at him.

 

 

“ **MARCO!!!** ”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

  

“Are you hiding from someone?” The cheeky voice from his brat make him tear his eyes from the drunkard form of his siblings.

 

 

“Aren’t you in the same boat yoi?” Smiling at Ace, Marco patted the empty spot next to him.

 

 

“Here.” Ace passed the glass of whiskey which he had grabbed for his older lover. “I’m starting school soon.”

 

 

“In two more days’ right?” Marco asked, sipping the whiskey made to how he like it.

 

 

“Yup.”

 

 

“Will you be sleeping in my room till you leave yoi?”

 

 

Glancing down at his feet, “…I don’t want to wake you up from your sleep.”

 

 

“Ace, this isn’t about waking me up from my sleep or not, I am worried about you and **_want_** to help you with the nightmares yoi.” When Ace didn’t look at him, “Ace, look at me. Look into my eyes yoi.”

 

 

As soon as Ace as Ace had followed his request, “I want to be there, by your side, and help you through this yoi.” As if he could hear what his younger lover is thinking, “Ace, having nightmares doesn’t mean you’re weak yoi. It just mean how much you care for the two brats. And I want to be there to help you with the nightmares, want to be there by your side, supporting you as you fight against them.”

 

 

Resting his forehead against Marco’s shoulder, Ace doesn’t know what to do at all. He wanted to let Marco help him, however the nightmares will disturb Marco’s sleep which he desperately needed after rushing out his work and tearing himself by worrying over everyone.

 

 

With the silence dragging on for too long, “You don’t have to worry about anything at all, I want to be there to help you yoi.”

 

 

Couldn’t stopping the smile from appearing on his face, “Okay.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“Mission accomplished?” Luffy asked as he peeked around the corner, looking at his older brother and the pineapple who have captured his brother’s heart.

 

 

“Yes, mission accomplished. We should warn Oyaji and the others about this, just in case they are planning to do something about Ace’s nightmare.” Sabo grin back at his youngest brother, raising up the glass bottle of beer which he had grabbed.

 

 

Agreeing with his older brother, Luffy hold up his glass of gold liquid to click his glass against his. Winking at one another, they both took a sip of their drink before turning back to look at the sappy scene.

 

 

Scrunching his nose, “Sabo?” a hum from Sabo was the permission for him to ask his question, “Do you think… The both of them are… You know?” Pausing for a while, “Going to do _that_?”

 

 

Thinking for a while, “I… Believe so? But Ace should be going to Marco’s room, so we shouldn’t be able to hear anything?” Tilting his head, Sabo blinking at the drink that Luffy is holding. Still haven’t manage to figure what kind of drink his baby brother is drinking. “Are you… Drinking Mountain Dew?”

 

 

“Hmm? Oh you mean this? It’s beer!”

 

 

“W-What?!” Sabo spluttered out, staring at Luffy like he had grown another head.

 

 

“Thatch passed it to me, telling me that it’s time for me to try my first beer.” Looking at the glass in his hand, “I don’t understand why so many people like it, it isn’t as tasty as meat. Do you want to finish it?”

 

 

 “ **THATCH!!!! You are so _fucking_ DEAD!!!** ”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading this series, I could never thank all of you enough for everything.
> 
>  
> 
> A huge shout out to Angel0940, thank you very much for never failing to leave a single comment on every single chapter, thank you for all of the encouragement and sorry for me being such a dick and not replying to most of your comments. Thank you very much!
> 
>  
> 
> I have a few ideas for the next fanfiction, but with my job interview coming up soon, I'm not so sure whether I would have the time to write anything. So I'm planning to write a few chapters first or maybe finish the whole thing before uploading here. Please look forward to them!


	9. Extra chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings of grammar mistakes!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Portgas. D. Ace had always know the fact that he is over-protective of those who he had let into his heart, knew that he will do whatever it takes to keep them safe, if it meant that he will need to use his life in-exchange for theirs.  He will do it without blinking his eyes.

 

He had always been that way since young, taking on all of the burdens on his shoulders if it meant that his two baby brothers would get the best thing. He wouldn’t mind sacrificing his life for them.

 

Of course that didn’t meant his two baby brothers didn’t nag at him about his ‘destructive ways’ that he had been going on ever since he had accepted them into his group of ‘important people’.

 

Those ‘destructive ways’ of his only ended after the Whitebeards found him, wait Marco found him first before the rest found him. And that is the best damn thing that happened in his whole life. To be accepted even after all of them knew about his heritage, about who his father is and what his father had done to the whole world. THEY STILL ACCEPTED HIM.

 

What were he talking about?

 

Oh ya.

 

Right about his protective instinct.

 

Ya, talking about that.

 

Ace once believed that his protective instinct _will_ and _had_ dimmed down after joining the Whitebeard crew. Because he have other older siblings who shared his rules and ideas about protecting those who are younger than they are. But it doesn’t seems like the case at all.

 

His protective instincts just increased.

 

And he doesn’t really know the reason why.

 

Really.

 

All it takes is just a whimper from one of his younger brothers and those protective instincts would flare up like fireworks. And that’s what happening right now.

 

“I don’t think that I can do it.” Luffy; their baby brother, whimpered out. Thrusting the items which he is holding in his hands to his two older brother.

 

“D-Don’t dump it on me!” Sabo squeak out, pushing Luffy’s hands away from him.

 

Taking in a deep breath to calm his racing heart down, now is the time to pull up his ‘big brother’ boots and take charge of this whole situation. “Pass it to me, I’ll do it.” Ace whispered out softly.

 

Causing the other two to stare at him as if he had grown another head. There are only a small handful of people who knew about this and it’s only because Ace had made them promise to keep it a secret from others till he allowed them to tell it.

 

The truth is Ace is absolutely terrified of anything that has to do with paranormal activities.

 

That is his only weakness. Sabo and Luffy knew about it since they grow up together, Marco found out when Ace came clean with him and Oyaji knew about it because he found Ace sitting in a dark corner in the Main Mansion when the rest of his sibling started talking about their encounter with the paranormal.

 

As for Garp, it’s hard to say for him as the old man only visited them once every few years. There’s a high chance where Garp doesn’t know about this small weakness.

 

It warmed Sabo and Luffy’s heart when they see their older brother stepping up to do something which he is clearly terrified of and loath with all his heart and life.

 

“Here,” Sabo hold out his hand, “you can hold my hand. But try not to break it.” He warned having a deep understanding of Ace’s brutal strength and could break his hands without much effort.

 

Knowing that Sabo could understand his thoughts without him saying a single word, Ace shot him a grateful look; eyes tearing slightly, holding onto Sabo’s hand. Something which they only do when Luffy is terrified and needed some sort of comfort.

 

“Don’t worry Ace, I’ll be here by your side too. You won’t be going in alone in this!” Luffy exclaimed, tightening his hold on Ace’s arm.

 

Hearing his brothers’ answer, it only made Ace remember the time when Sabo and Luffy had accepted him and stick by his side after revealing his heritage to the both of them.

 

They didn’t care about what **_his father_** had done to the rest of the world. And that’s what saved him from falling into the deep end.

 

“Okay, let’s do this.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Finally returning home after a tiring day where he had to spend nearly three hours in an unpleasant meeting, he couldn’t hold back or even soften the sigh of relief that escaped from his mouth.

 

The soft chuckles from his side reminded him that Izou is standing there.

 

“Good to be home right?” Izou questioned.

 

Didn’t have the strength to answer his cross-dressing brother, Marco could only nod his head.

 

“I still can’t believe that your boss and ex-editor think that they could force you to do anything.” Izou continued as he started grabbing his bag out of his car, “While it isn’t unexpected but we did warn you about it.”

 

“I know yoi.” Rolling his eyes when Izou isn’t paying attention to him, “But you all also know the fact that I do not like to trouble anyone with anything. Plus I didn’t think that everything will end up this way.” Marco answered, waiting for his brother to get ready to head back into their house.

 

“You **were** too nice to all of your editors, and it only made them think that they could throw their weight around with him. Everyone knew that this will happen sooner or later, but to think that your ex-editor will complain to your boss about it.”

 

Sighing out, Marco couldn’t believe it himself either. When he first receive a call from his boss for a meeting, he thought that it would either be about his new novel; which he haven’t think about it yet, or it would be about his new editor, so he had agreed to head down to the office to have the meeting.

 

That’s why he had been slightly shock to find his ex-editor in the room. Marco had dismissed it, thinking that he will be receiving an apology from his ex-editor, he decided to continue on with the meeting.

 

But it seems like the Gods above liked to see him suffer. Instead of an apology, both his boss and his ex-editor had **_demanded an answer from him_**. Talking about his offending method of dismissing his editor during an interview program.

 

While this ‘meeting’ isn’t enough to snap his endless amount of patience; his family had trained him enough for that, however the smug smirk on his ex-editor’s face was the torched for his rage. However before he could unleash his rage at the two **_idiots_** in front of him, Izou who had been free on that day and decided to give him a life and stayed for this meeting, decided that he had more than enough of this whole thing.

 

Unleashing his rage at the two poor idiotic humans, they never knew what they are going to face.

 

It isn’t a hidden fact that Izou is the easiest to anger among all of his siblings; two sure ways to pissed off the cross-dresser is to mess with either Izou’s clothes or his cosmetics, however Izou have a good control over his rage and rarely unleash his full anger on anyone, therefore Izou’s rage never last long. Usually taking a day or two before the ‘offender’ was forgiven.

 

His family had only witness Izou’s rage once.

 

Once.

 

And that’s all it took for everyone to know how horrifying Izou’s rage is.

 

Izou’s rage only ended with Marco trying his best to hold Izou back while Oyaji hiding Thatch (the idiotic offender) behind him from being beaten to death. Half of his siblings didn’t wanted to help him because they stood by Izou’s side because Thatch had crossed the line, and the other half didn’t want to be maimed by Izou largely due to the fact that they had witness his left shoulder being dislocated by holding Izou back.

 

In the meeting, Marco didn’t bothered to hold Izou back from whipping the two idiots around.

 

Why would he want to protect the both of them when they had been nothing but idiots? Plus they aren’t ‘family’ and that had been the most entertaining thing he had seen after such a long time.

 

He felt so good to watch Izou giving the both of them a tongue leashing that they desperately needed. Even going as far as to bring up the point that Marco could just go and find another publisher, after all no one will turn him away since his works have always been flying off the shelves.

 

“It’s a good thing that I decided to give you a lift right?” Izou questioned, snapping him back from his thoughts.

 

“Thanks a lot yoi.”

 

Shooting his older brother a soft smile, “Don’t worry about it Marco, take it as a thank you for all the times you stepped up for me whenever someone bullied me. Anyway, let’s head inside. You should bath and spend the rest of the night with Ace before the brat had to head back to school.”

 

Nodding his head to agree with his brother, “Let’s use the back doors. I don’t want to wake anyone up at this timing yoi.”

 

Creeping along the hallway, the both of them tried to minimise the noise they create while walking, how in the world did Izou managed to not make a single noise walking down the marble floor while wearing genta is still a mystery to Marco. Something which he mentally vowed to figure out when he isn’t swamp with work.

 

“Night Marco, see you in the morning.” Izou whispered out as soon as he reached the split hallway.

 

Waving to cross-dressing brother, Marco quicken his pace to his room. The urge to spend the rest of the night with his lover strong in his mind, with the meeting with his boss and the asshole-of-an-ex-editor dragged on, the time he could spend with Ace had cut short and with the meeting being dragged on, there’s almost not much time left for their quiet and alone time.

 

Opting for a shower instead of soaking all of the accumulated stress and tension in his body away, Marco could have the much needed soak tomorrow. After Ace had to head back to his University and after the soak, maybe he could have a quick talk with Oyaji.

 

He still need to find another editor.

 

Maybe Luffy’s friend; NIco Robin, is willing to take on that position? Always spotted with a book in hand, Marco is sure Robin will like to take on that role, sadly she will need to go for some training for the position.

 

Well, he will need to ask her to know her answer. Maybe he will text her about it after Ace sets off tomorrow?

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Flinching slightly, Ace couldn’t help but just wonder if he had lost his mind.

 

Really, what the **_HELL_** had he been thinking when he decided to step up for this? Tightening his hold on Sabo’s hand, he really hope that he doesn’t break it. Sabo will be pissed off if he did.

 

Taking in another deep breath, Ace could feel his brothers doing the same thing. Hoping to calm down their frantic heart rate before they continue on. All three of them know that something is going to show up around the corner, it’s always like this.

 

Something showing up as soon as they turn around the corner.

 

While they did prepare themselves for the shock of their life but that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t be screaming their heads off like little girls because of it.

 

**_“HHHHIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!”_ **

 

The sound of their screams bounced off the walls.

 

The poor boys didn’t know what kind of chaos they had just caused.

 

 

  

* * *

 

 

 

 

As the scream shook the foundation of the Main Mansion, it caused nearly everyone to jump at least three feet into the air. Those who were sleeping had first jumped three feet into the air before falling off their soft and warm bed, as for Marco, he had a slightly different reaction.

 

Marco did jump three feet into the air, but his reflex is too fast for him to slip and fall on the ground that is filled with soap. The pranks Thatch always pulls on him had trained him enough on his reflexes.

 

Snapping his head to the direction of the bathroom door with narrowed eyes, Marco couldn’t help but analyse the scream that he had just heard.

 

It’s filled with terror and fear.

 

Filling his mind with the images of the night when Thatch was assaulted in the safety of their house. Not only is Thatch’s life hanging on the line, the family’s two youngest brother had charged in head first after witnessing how the coward had attacked their brother.

 

Marco had been near the fight scene but since his room had been soundproofed without him knowing, he didn’t hear the noises created. It’s only after Izou had the mind to inform him about the situation did he know what went on a few feet away from his room.

 

The fight had occurred a few feet away from his room but Marco didn’t know what had happened. Because his room had been soundproofed without him knowing, so even if his two youngest brother; Sabo and Luffy, had tried their best to catch his attention by creating as much noise as possible, he didn’t came out to help them.

 

His biggest mistake that he regretted the most.

 

That incident still weights on his mind, knowing that he had failed his duties had created the guilt which sits on his shoulders like a dead weight.

 

While the doctors and nurses in their family did all they could for three of his brothers, everyone else had waited outside the doors; wanting to hear the conditions of their brothers as soon as possible, Marco had vowed to himself.

 

To never let something like this happen again.

 

The scream contained three different voices; it might be hard for the others to come to this conclusion, but Marco is certain that three of his siblings had screamed at the same time. Something had terrified them so much that his ‘manly’ brothers had actually screamed like a girl.

 

At that point, his asshole brain decided to screw with him. Images of his siblings lying face down on the ground, with a pool of blood surrounding the body, growing larger as each second pass flashed pass his eyes. Fearing that someone in his family had been attacked once again, Marco quickly rushed out of the bathroom, forgoing the need to rinse off all the shampoo and soap on his body.

 

Only slowing down enough to grab a large towel to cover his lower half. There isn’t any need to give his other siblings ‘materials’ for their ‘creative’ brain to produce nightmares to haunt them right?

 

Flying down the hallway, he could hear echoing footsteps behind him.

 

Good, the others are following him.

 

This means that he could focus on the bastard or bastards who dare to attack them, and the others could take care of those who are injured and bringing them to the infirmary.

 

Awesome situation for him and not so much for those idiots.

 

It’s been a while since he could release his rage. On a normal day, his stress level is already high, with his own work and the paperwork which he had decided to do instead of letting Oyaji do it, the troubles that all of his siblings get into doesn’t do much but add on his stress level.

 

But his stress level had been shot through the roof, after the recent betrayal incident with three of his brothers suffering from serious injuries, everyone else worrying their heads off, Oyaji have to inform Sengoku and Garp about the whole situation and with him being the First Division Commander and the first son to be adopted by Oyaji, he had to take care of the rest of the situation.

 

From that time until now, he haven’t found the time to release all of those stress. So beating the shit out of those idiots is a very good stress reliever for him.

 

Ignoring the questions that his other siblings are screaming at him, all of them rushed down to the entertainment room; the place where the scream came from. Throwing the door open, the noise that Marco created should have woken up the rest; those who weren’t woken up by the scream, and he didn’t care about that.

 

Muffled screams reached his ears.

 

Snapping his eyes around the whole room, with the lights from the television is barely enough to light up the dim room for him to look around, eyes diluted, a low growl at the back of his throat, ready to release at the first threat he sees.

 

Only to find the room almost empty. 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Pushing off the thick covers; specially made for him, the mental debate Whitebeard had in his mind finally come to a conclusion.

 

_He had to go watch the ‘show’ in the entertainment room now._

 

In normal circumstances, Whitebeard would usually be the first few who would rushed out of his room if he heard any of his children screaming at the top of their lungs.

 

 ** _This_** is one of the time when it isn’t normal.

 

Mainly because he know what is going on in the Mansion. Knew how many of his children are in the Mansion, know how many of them had headed out due to either their work or they had to grab something from the store. He knew what all of his children are doing at any given time, and if he is asleep his children will text him to warn him if he is looking for them to talk about something. Even with a single glance and observing his children for a few minutes is able to tell him whether his children is having a bad day, needed a talk with him or just facing some trouble or problem with their work.

 

He doesn’t stalk them.

 

No.

 

There isn’t any hidden cameras which he had installed in every single room. There isn’t any need for Whitebeard to install any cameras.

 

 **There** are some **things** which he would rather not find out or see with his own eyes, there isn’t any need or urge in him to find out just what all of his children do when they are alone, in their own room. Situations where he **_will need_** brain bleach; which hasn’t been invented yet, to clean out the **_horrors_** assaulting his eyes and brain.

 

He doesn’t need the help of any technology. Why would Whitebeard need them when all of his children will come forward to ‘report’ to him?

 

And no. He haven’t demanded anyone, forced anyone or even requested anyone to tell him anything. The first person to actually ‘report’ to him was actually his level-headed, calm and the first child he adopted.

 

Listening to his children as they either talk about their day, what they had learnt in school or asking for advice about the problem which they are facing. As he got older, facing some health issues, it seems another hidden rule had appeared once again.

 

With his declining health, all of his children are worried about his condition and wanted to lessen the burden he carries. The first to step up again is Marco, snatching away all of his paperwork; something which is thankful for because he loathe those damned paper, one again when all of his children witness Marco lessening the burden that he carries, all of them followed in Marco’s footsteps.

 

While the talks about how his children’s day went are still there, Whitebeard realised that the talks about their problems have dropped. While he didn’t mind it, but he couldn’t help the sadness that grew inside of him, that all of his children are all growing up and that one day he wouldn’t be there for them to give them anymore advice.

 

But that situation is still far away. In his own mind, he is still healthy as a horse.

 

And that isn’t the main point right now. The most important thing is the ‘show’ that is going on in the entertainment room.

 

True to his thoughts, all of the Commanders are scattered around the room, each in a position where they are able to lean against the wall and have the best view to watch this ‘show’. Marco standing in the middle, with their large towel wrapped around his waist, bubbles of both soap and shampoo decorated around his body where he didn’t have the time or the mind-set to rinse them off.

 

“Really, what the hell were you guys thinking yoi?” Marco’s strained voice echoed in the silent room.

 

None of his children wanted to risk turning Marco’s wrath on them, Whitebeard believed that all of his children had their own fair share of lecture from Marco. He even had to listen to them too, when his daughters decided to be a snitch and told Marco about his excessive drinking. He shouldn’t have to be too worried if anyone else lectures him about it, but Marco could guilt trip everyone in the house.

 

Including him.

 

Making everyone wished that they could either die or a sinkhole to appear and just run away from Marco. Thank God that Marco doesn’t use that often, or else his family wouldn’t be the same anymore.

 

“Oyaji,” turning to the side, Vista had somehow made his way over keeping his voice low, “did you know that this is going to happen?”

 

Shooting a cheeky grin at his son, Whitebeard know that his son can understand his form of reply.

 

The smile hidden by the impressive moustache and his hand that is stroking it, told Whitebeard that his son had gotten his answer and is willing to keep this as a secret between the both of them.

 

“Pine-“cutting himself off, “Marco~” Luffy whined. Pushing the bottom of his lip out, creating the cutest pout Whitebeard have ever seen, and thinking that this would be enough to stop Marco from continuing on.

 

Vein popping out on his forehead, “You didn’t just tried me to call me a _‘pineapple’_.” The tight tone Marco have used told the three brats that they aren’t getting out of this mess.

 

Ace groaned out, Sabo’s shoulders slumped down in defeat and Luffy just puffed his cheeks like a chipmunk whose cheek are filled with food, crossing his arms across his chest while he frowned at Marco.

 

“But we aren’t doing anything bad!” Luffy blurted out, throwing both of his arms up into the air.

 

The elbow nudge from Sabo wasn’t fast enough to stop Luffy from making the situation worse.

 

“You aren’t getting into trouble, but the scream the three of you let out and made all of us think something bad had happened **_again_** yoi! I thought that someone was being attacked in the Mansion again!” Marco hissed out, voice sounding loud in the silent room.

 

As Marco continued on with his lecture, the three brats continued staying in their position. Ace and Sabo had to nudge Luffy once in a while with a slight shake of their head to stop their youngest mouth from running.

 

Chuckling as softly as he could, Whitebeard couldn’t help the amusement flare up as he watch his children’s attics.

 

This is what he wanted to achieve, the goal in his life. Whitebeard’s wealth, his reputation, his business and how other people view him isn’t within his plans and goals. Having a ‘Family’ was and still is what he had wanted for all of his life, even if they aren’t blood related to one another; except for Marco, but that isn’t important.

 

The bond that they have with one another is way more important than anything else. The bond where all of them have forged through blood, sweat and tears will and shall be the hardest thing to break among them.

 

Of course there are and will be times where their bonds will be put to the test, for example like the recent betrayal incident where Teach had tried to destroy them. While Teach failed to do it due to Sabo and Luffy’s effort, but the same situation might appear again. Maybe within the next few years or after he had passed on from this world, and Whitebeard knows that his children will all stand tall and pass those test thrown at them.

 

And he pray with all of his heart to a God that he **_never_** believes in, that he will be able to find everyone in their next life.

 

Where he could be able to ask them to be his child, where all of them could be together again and create the bond they have right now, where he will be able to experience this happiness again.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE~! Found another prompt on tumblr and decided that this would be a better ending chapter for this series than chapter nine.
> 
> For those who doesn't know what Fatal Frame is, it's a horror game where you had to capture ghost with a camera. Never played that game but have watched the gameplay on youtube years ago, and it kind of terrifies me? XD
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!


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